For Your Entertainment
by Amazingly Hyper
Summary: Kakashi shows up at Iruka's apartment randomly after a few months of dating, claiming he was there for Iruka's entertainment. He attempts to have his way with Iruka, but his plans are foiled every time. WARNING: The gay
1. January 1 Maito Gai

**AN: I don't own anything except the idea. Characters belong to Kishimoto. **

Oh, I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet  
You thought an angel swept ya off ya feet  
Well I'm about to turn up the heat  
I'm here for your entertainment

-For Your Entertainment © Adam Lambert

* * *

There was a sharp, loud knock on the door of his apartment, and Iruka glanced up from his book. He hadn't invited anyone over and Naruto was still training with Jiraiya outside the village, so he was surprised, to say the least. His thoughts wandered toward Sakura-chan, but the kunoichi was working at the hospital tonight; she'd mentioned it when he'd seen her earlier. For a moment he entertained the thought of it being Kakashi, but there was no chance of that; the jounin had been on a mission since the day after Christmas.

The knock came again, louder and more demanding than before. Iruka sighed, closing his book. "Coming, coming!" he called, getting to his feet. The book was dropped unceremoniously in his seat as the chuunin made his way toward the front door and unknown visitor. Perhaps it was Gai again like the other day, knocking on Iruka's door just to wish him a great day. Or Genma, who was known lately for stopping by on his way home just to check in with Iruka. Even Asuma had randomly showed up in the past week, claiming he was there for some cooking herb for Kurenai. It was as though all of Kakashi's friends were checking to see if he were home.

He dragged himself out of his musings and opened the door, only to be pushed back into the apartment and his mystery visitor closing the door quickly behind him. Iruka opened his mouth to object to the trespassing, but warm lips covered his own. He growled and shoved back the intruder, but the mystery attacker had other plans; he pushed Iruka gently into the wall and pinned the smaller man there. Iruka pushed against the man again and found himself staring into familiar mismatched eyes that were currently looking very much like a kicked dog's.

"Kakashi?"

The eyes lit up and Iruka was given a soft, chaste kiss. Iruka rolled his eyes in mock exasperation and crossed his arms, putting distance between himself and his boyfriend of a few months. Kakashi pouted, the expression visible since his mask had been pulled down the second he'd gotten through the door.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on a mission!" Iruka went on in a disapproving tone.

"I got home early, and, since I knew you were home alone today..." Kakashi's pout curved into a lecherous grin and he leaned forward. Iruka turned his face to the side and immediately regretted it; Kakashi had anticipated the movement and took advantage of the exposed skin on Iruka's throat. Iruka pushed him back again, and the pout returned.

"You didn't answer the question," Iruka said firmly, keeping his hands on Kakashi's chest and not allowing the jounin to come any closer.

"What question?"

"The question about the meaning of this unexpected visit."

"Why, 'Ru, isn't it obvious?" Kakashi asked, feigning surprise. "I'm here for your entertainment."

"Really." Iruka raised a brow. Showing up at his home uninvited, pushing him against a wall, and going on to try to have his way with Iruka was not the chuunin's definition of 'entertainment'. Nor did it seem like the sweet, surprisingly romantic man that had swept Iruka off his feet. "And what kind of entertainment would that be?"

"The good kind."

"Well, entertainment is usually pleasant, Kashi, or it wouldn't be entertaining." Iruka slipped from his boyfriend's grasp and went back over to the couch, picking up his book. Mere seconds later, the book was plucked from his hands and looked over by Kakashi, who then shrugged and tossed it over his shoulder. Iruka glared up at him for interrupting his reading for the second time in under 10 minutes, but Kakashi leaned down and put his hands on either side of the younger man, his eyes locked on Iruka's brown ones.

"Kakashi, do you mind?"

"Nope, not at all. C'mon, didn't you miss me, 'Ru?" he asked, brushing his lips across the smaller man.

"Can't miss you unless you're gone, Kashi," Iruka said innocently, even adding in an endearing smile. "Now, I'd really like to finish that chapter before I have to go."

The shock on Kakashi's face was priceless. The jounin had obviously expected a welcome-back present of sorts, not to be put aside for a book. "Go? Go where? You don't have any plans today!"

"Have you been spying on me?"

"N-No!"

Iruka didn't believe him. No wonder his friends had been popping up suddenly. "Well, if you must know, I'm invited to a party today."

"What...?"

The door burst open and Gai exploded into the room in all of his green spandex-clad glory. "Ah, Eternal Rival Kakashi! I did not expect to see you here on this youthful day!" the man boomed, flashing his bright smile. "I trust Iruka-san has told you of the day's plans!"

Kakashi gaped first at Gai, then at Iruka. For the first time since Iruka had met him, Hatake Kakashi was struck speechless. Iruka again slipped away from Kakashi and picked up his book, marking his place and setting it on the coffee table.

"Thanks for coming to pick me up, Gai-san. Let's get over there before they think we're skipping out," the chuunin said calmly, grabbing a jacket and pulling it on. "Kakashi, you coming?"

Kakashi snapped out of his shocked state and pulled up his mask quickly to recompose himself. "Yeah... sure, I'm coming." He straightened up and crossed his arms, once again the aloof jounin everyone knew him to be. The trio left for locations unknown, unless one happened to look at a nearby calendar.

January 1st – Gai's Birthday.

Consider Kakashi's plans put off until January 2nd.


	2. January 8 Hyuuga Hiashi

January 7.

The space was blank next to that date. Iruka should've had nothing to do. Kakashi glared at the calendar over the top of Icha Icha Violence from his position on the couch. It'd been a week since Gai's birthday and Kakashi's own failed attempt at showing his boyfriend just how much Kakashi cared for him, and the jounin hadn't had the chance to see Iruka before today. At least, that's what he'd thought that morning when he'd jumped out of bed. But Iruka wasn't at home. Iruka wasn't at the academy. Iruka hadn't been seen leaving the village. Even Tsunade didn't know where Iruka was.

In short, Iruka was missing and Kakashi was worried as hell.

"Relax. He'll show up. This is a pretty big village, after all. He's probably out visiting friends," Genma said, shrugging as he sprawled on the armchair across from Kakashi.

"Kotetsu and Izumo haven't seen him."

"Grocery shopping, then."

"Nobody matching his description has been at any of the shops today. Not even Ichiraku Ramen."

"Teaching? Visiting Anko? Talking to Sakura at the hospital?"

"No, no, and no!" Kakashi let go of his book, and it fell, closed, in his lap as he sat up quickly to glare at the special jounin. "I checked the academy, I checked the hospital, and he would've told me if he was going to visit _Anko!"_

"Calm down! You're just overreacting!"

"How can I calm down?! Iruka's gone! Nobody knows where he is!"

There was a tense silence, broken only by Kakashi's harsh breathing. The men stared at each other, their expressions never changing: Kakashi exasperated and Genma mildly surprised at the outburst. Kakashi knew he should probably apologize –Genma was only trying to help, after all- but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He was freaking out.

"Iruka has to be somewhere. You're not considered a genius for nothing, Kakashi. Use your brain!"

Kakashi turned toward him, eye flashing, when the door opened and Iruka walked in. Barely a second later, Kakashi had glomped the poor chuunin. "'Ru! I looked everywhere for you! The academy, the market, the hospital, Ichiraku...!"

"So you're the stalker everyone's been talking about," Iruka chuckled, raising a brow and smiling fondly up at his boyfriend. "I was starting to get worried. It's not every day that most of the civilians are warning me against a masked man asking around for me." When Kakashi didn't loosen his grip, Iruka wriggled out of the jounin's embrace and dusted himself off. "You know, I put a note on your calendar. Didn't you see it? Good afternoon, Genma-san."

"Afternoon, Iruka-san," Genma replied, smiling smugly in an 'I told you so' manner.

"The calendar's blank! I've been staring at it since I got back from looking for you!" Kakashi cut in, frowning.

Iruka glanced at the admittedly blank calendar. He sighed, walked over to it, and ripped off the page that announced it January 7. Underneath was the _real_ date; January 8. And, sure enough, in Iruka's small, neat handwriting was a note.

January 8 – Hyuuga Hiashi Birthday Festival. Neji 11 sharp. Be back around 5.

"You... you mean... it was somebody _else's_ birthday today?!" Kakashi demanded, shocked. "Exactly a week from Gai's? What's the deal? Since when were you so close to the Hyuuga clan?"

Iruka turned to his boyfriend and looked at him strangely. "Kashi, I thought I told you. Hinata-chan has been inviting me to her father's birthday celebration since Naruto-kun left with Jiraiya-sama. I suppose it's her way of keeping him nearby."

"I've been looking everywhere for _nothing?_"

"You were just looking in the wrong places, Kashi." Iruka kissed him softly on the cheek as he passed the motionless jounin. "Next time, check the date. I dropped off some cake; I'll see you tomorrow, all right? I have papers to grade."

Kakashi could only stare after Iruka blankly as the chuunin left his apartment.


	3. January 19 Sabaku no Gaara

**A/N**: Sorry for the long wait! I had to wait for Gaara's birthday to come around, and then, before I knew it, it was only a day away! So, yes, it's short because I had to come up with an idea just last night. My theme of KakaIru is becoming harder and harder with each passing birthday, especially this one with Gaara. So, I had to do what I could with the theme. No, I'm not putting any actual couples in here except for KakaIru, but if you want to read this as ShikaTema, go ahead.

So anyway, on with the chapter!

~~~*!*~~~

Iruka sighed in contentment. A vacation in Suna during the cold month of January was exactly what he needed. Even Kakashi seemed relaxed and at peace. Well, as peaceful as Hatake Kakashi could be. The jounin was still pretty sullen from Iruka's almost two-week absence while on a mission. Iruka had caught him checking every day on the calendar that the couple would be in Suna, as if looking for more birthdays. He chuckled and glanced over at Kakashi. The duo were wandering around Suna, just acting like normal tourists. Kakashi had undoubtedly been to the Sand Village many times during his career as a jounin, but he claimed to have never actually looked at the village as anything more than a mission location.

"Kashi, are you sure you're not bored?"

"Of course not, 'Ru, how could I be bored?"

"Wandering aimlessly through the streets of Sunagakure, with nothing to do, nothing new to see..."

Kakashi scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Okay, okay, you got me. But it's fine, really!" he added quickly as Iruka stopped and turned fully toward the older man. "I mean, it's our first vacation together, 'Ru. Neither of us have the chance to disappear off on some mission, so we can spend some time together! You know?"

Iruka laughed. He knew exactly what Kakashi meant by 'spend time together'. It wasn't going to happen, not until he was sure of the jounin's feelings for him. His perverted ways would always bother Iruka, but Iruka did truly care for the man, and he wanted to know if Kakashi felt the same. At first, their only connection had been Naruto. It had extended to so much more...

"Oi, stop thinking so deeply. Your frown is going to convince everyone that you're in my company against your will," Kakashi said quietly, nudging the chuunin to get him walking again.

"Maybe I am," Iruka said, chuckling.

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Oh for the love of...!" Kakashi growled.

But it was too late. Nara Shikamaru and Temari of the Sand had spotted them, and were fast approaching. Kakashi considered grabbing Iruka and using his favorite Body Flicker Technique, but knew the chuunin would only get annoyed with him. So, he stuck his hands back in his pockets and stopped beside Iruka.

"Good thing you're here! We need help planning a party for Gaara!" Temari was saying. "His first birthday party ever! Help us, Iruka-san? We only have an hour; the Council meeting will be over by then!"

"Sure, Temari-san. I suppose you're here to help, too, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru shrugged boredly. "Sure. She dragged me along. Oi, Kakashi-sensei. Fancy meeting you here."

"Ditto, Shikamaru."

Without further ado, Temari and Iruka started off, discussing the party they were going to throw in an hour's time, while Kakashi and Shikamaru followed them at a small distance.

"Women..." Shikamaru sighed.

"Men..." Kakashi agreed.

They were in for the longest hour of their lives.


	4. January 23 Aburame Shino

Iruka sighed softly to himself. The party in the Aburame clan compound had been going for about 2 hours, and he was feeling oddly out of place. An academic sensei, at one of his ex-students' parties? It wasn't unheard of, sure, but it didn't make him fit in any better. There were others he knew there, mostly his old students, but also some of Kakashi's jounin friends. Even some of Iruka's own friends had made appearances. If asked, he could tell you that Kotetsu and Izumo were probably hiding out together in some closet, Anko and Gai were scarring his aforementioned ex-students for life, and Asuma was keeping an eye on a very drunk Genma. Raido and Kurenai were off on a mission with Kakashi, much to Team Eight and Iruka's despair, but Iruka didn't broadcast his disappointment at the absences like Hinata had been doing.

"Uh... Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka turned and forced a bright smile. "Hello, Hinata-chan! Very nice party you planned for Shino-kun. He must be very thankful."

Hinata promptly blushed at the praise. She hadn't changed much from when she'd been in the academy, Iruka thought offhandedly. The poor girl probably still admired Naruto, even with the blonde's absence for almost 2 years. The two fell into a companionable silence for a while, until the young chuunin spoke again.

"Iruka-sensei, why... are you over here alone?"

This time, his smile was genuine as he looked back at the girl. Even with her shyness, Hinata cared deeply for everyone she knew, much like Iruka himself and Naruto.

"Just enjoying some time to myself, Hinata-chan. You probably won't believe me, but I don't go out to parties all that much." He chuckled, his eyes sweeping the large, brightly lit room before landing back on the Hyuuga. "And this one is much different from the others I've been to. It has less drinking, more friends, and is a lot less worrisome about Kakashi and Gai getting themselves into trouble."

Hinata nodded slowly. "I couldn't possibly allow alcohol here, not when Neji-niisan warned me of Lee-san's... er, problem. I still don't know how Genma-san got so drunk."

"He carries sake around with him at parties. Getting drunk is his thing, especially when Kakashi isn't around to keep him entertained. Though usually they both end up drunk." He chuckled again, remembering Gai's birthday party only 22 days before.

"Are... are you worried about him, Iruka-sensei?"

"Hmm?" Caught off-guard by the question, Iruka stared blankly at the younger chuunin. It wasn't that she knew about him and Kakashi that had surprised him; it wasn't like the teachers were trying to keep it a secret. But Hinata seemed to be reading his emotions as easily as Anko could... though without being a quarter as scary. Of course, his mind reasoned, he _was_ standing alone by a window at a party that Kakashi wasn't at, due to a mission. He knew he shouldn't be worrying... Kurenai and Raido were both with Kakashi. Kurenai was a genjutsu master, Kakashi was ex-ANBU, and Raido... well, Iruka didn't really know much about Raido but for the fact that he was a special jounin and one of Genma's close friends. He was supposed to be quite strong, but, having never been on a mission with the older man, Iruka had no idea if the info was true.

"Well... of course I am, Hinata-chan," he said at last. "As pointless as it is, there's always a chance that a mission will come along that not even Kakashi can complete without injury. Being a jounin is dangerous, and I knew the risks of being with him before our first date." He sighed. "I'll always worry when he's out on a mission. He doesn't have a genin squad anymore; he's not stuck with harmless D-rank missions."

"I worry about Naruto-kun, too... even though he's with Jiraiya-sama."

"Don't worry about Naruto, Hinata-chan. He'll come home safely."

The Hyuuga smiled, and Iruka found himself smiling back. "The same goes for you about Kakashi-sensei. He will be fine," she told him, her normally shy voice seeming to ooze confidence for a split second.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan. Go on back to the party, I should be getting home anyway."

He turned from Hinata just as the door opened with a bang. Everyone froze. Usually, doors thrown open meant something was wrong, someone had been injured or killed. But, out of the corner of his eye, Iruka saw Asuma grin. That could only mean one thing; Kurenai was the one at the door. He moved through the crowd slowly and spotted Raido going over to Asuma to relieve the bearded jounin of his sleeping charge, Genma. If both Raido and Kurenai had arrived at the party...

"Yo."

Kakashi stood just inside the door, his eye focused on his book and his foot kicking the door shut. The party guests remained silent for a few more seconds before everything went back to how it was. Iruka barely registered Hinata standing beside him as Kakashi made his way directly toward the academy sensei, nose still in his porn and not seeming any worse for wear.

Kakashi glanced up at Iruka, smiled one of his eye-curve smiles, and snapped his book shut.

"Hey, 'Ru. Didja miss me?" he asked.


	5. February 8 Sarutobi Hiruzen

**AN: **I know, I know, I was almost too late. Point is, I basically had 2 hours, total, to write this up. For that reason, I didn't bother to try a conversation, or even any dialogue. Hopefully the next chapter (2 days!) will get some speaking parts.

Also, any ideas you may have for upcoming chapters are welcome. Just comment them or send me a note. I don't bite.  
**Reviews will be used to feed Kakashi while Iruka's off eatin' some cake.**

~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~

Kakashi woke up the morning of February 8 and knew something was off. And indeed it was; his apartment was empty, devoid of a certain adorable chuunin that liked to come over in the mornings and cook his breakfast (unless Kakashi had pissed him off the day before). In fact, it wasn't only empty. It was silent. Another sign Iruka wasn't there. Kakashi was used to waking up to the sound of cheerful whistling and the scraping of pots, pans, plates, and bowls. Cooking sounds. Iruka sounds.

He sat up slowly and ran a hand through his already-wild hair. Where could Iruka be? Maybe he was on a mission...? No, he was just an academy teacher. They wouldn't just send him off randomly. Kakashi yawned hugely, scratching at his jaw as he threw back the sheets and climbed to his feet to get dressed. He still had to run down to the memorial stone before 10 am.

It was only a few minutes later that a fully-dressed, adequately-masked Hatake Kakashi left his apartment and was strolling down the streets of Konoha. He nodded at the civilians and shinobi he encountered, even curving his eye if he felt like it. It felt like a nice day, if not strange, but hey, he was known to be a little paranoid. Maybe Iruka had to show up at the academy early to fix something, his mind reasoned.

He paused just before he reached the memorial stone. He could sense four chakra signatures up ahead, and one was definitely Iruka. Kakashi frowned and peered around a tree, his one visible eye widening when he spotted Asuma, little Konohamaru, and Kurenai sitting with Iruka on a picnic blanket in front of the memorial stone. Between the quartet was a cake, with lit candles and everything.

Kakashi suddenly understood. How could he have forgotten? Was he so lost in his own little world of Iruka and himself that he didn't even remember what day it was? He turned on his heel and headed back the way he'd come, letting them have their little celebration. Besides, he thought, Obito, Rin, and Sensei would understand if he didn't visit them one day. Especially on a day like this one.

The jounin hoped that Sarutobi Hiruzen was watching the four shinobi celebrating this day in front of the memorial stone. Kakashi had the feeling that no matter what, dead or alive, the Third Hokage would never have to worry about someone forgetting his special day.

Kakashi went back home and started rereading Icha Icha Paradise for the hundredth time. Iruka could have this day to do what he needed and wanted to do, and Kakashi wouldn't let that bother him. He was a grown man, ex-ANBU. He could be alone for one day.

After all, it was a hero's birthday.


	6. February 10 Uchiha Obito

Iruka stared at the clock, almost wishing that Kakashi would come earlier than usual and disrupt the class. But after the last time the jounin had done that, Iruka was sure Kakashi would never make that mistake again. He didn't want to go into details, but it involved Maito Gai, a spandex outfit in Kakashi's size, and Iruka's entire pre-genin class holding down the jounin, who wouldn't fight back for fear of hurting them.

But today, Iruka had no such evil plans against his boyfriend. He was worried. Kakashi had been surprisingly distant that morning, and hadn't made a single perverse comment while they were eating breakfast. Something was up, and Iruka wanted to know what. Could it be possible that Kakashi had grown bored with the chuunin? Perhaps Iruka shouldn't have rejected him so harshly the month before, on Gai's birthday. After all, the man had an ego the size of the Fire Country!

"Iruka-sensei?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and peered over his desk at the pre-genin that had interrupted his worrying. The young girl looked quite nervous, standing in front of his desk before the entire class, and the sensei smiled comfortingly. "What is it, Hanako-chan?"

"Are you sick?"

Surprised, Iruka gaped at the child. Before he spoke and made a fool of himself, however, he realized what was really worrying her. He'd been quiet and distracted all day, and the poor kids must've thought he was sick since he was acting so strange.

"No, no, I'm not sick. Is everyone finished with their assignment? You are? Good, come turn them in and go outside until the bell."

Children rushed to his desk and were out the door before Iruka could say anything else. That suited him fine. Now he could wait around and see if Kakashi showed up when the bell rang. Hopefully he was wrong, and Kakashi wasn't just hanging around until someone better came along.

"Yo."

Iruka looked up sharply, and there stood Kakashi at the door, his book in one hand and his eye focused on it. The other hand remained in his pocket, as usual. It was as though Iruka's very doubts had summoned the jounin.

"How'd you know my class wasn't in here?" he asked carefully.

"I've been waiting outside for the bell. Wouldn't want a repeat of last time, after all." Kakashi looked up and Iruka could see the familiar grin even though the mask still covered the older man's face. It almost hurt to see that smile when he'd just doubted Kakashi's true intentions.

"Anything wrong, 'Ru?"

"No, I'm fine... you just seemed weird this morning. I was worried, is all." Iruka shrugged and stood, straightening the mess of papers on his desk. When Kakashi didn't put his worries to rest right away, the chuunin frowned and glanced up. The Copy Ninja was staring at one page of his book with a frozen expression, almost like Iruka had caught him off guard.

"Kashi? You okay?" Iruka asked worriedly, reaching out and pulling his book down.

"...Yeah. Sorry for worrying you, 'Ru. I just had something to do today." Kakashi closed the book and smiled again, though it seemed a little forced to the chuunin. Iruka didn't comment on it, however, and nodded as Kakashi waved his book toward the door.

As they passed the path toward the memorial stone, Kakashi slowed almost unnoticeably. It was then that Iruka understood the weird way he'd been acting all day.

"Hang on a minute, Kashi. I have to go talk to someone."

"Huh? Oh, sure. Go ahead."

Iruka strolled down to the stone and paused in front of it, his eyes wandering the names until he found the one he needed. He smiled, feeling Kakashi's presence just out of sight, and focused on the stone.

"Happy birthday, Obito-san. I wish I could've met you... You had to have been something special for Kashi to regard you so highly..."

Behind him, in a tree, Kakashi stared at his boyfriend's back in shock. How had he known? Kakashi didn't make a habit of writing birthdays on his calendar; he was a prodigy, for crying out loud.

'_Ru... thanks. Really._


	7. March 8 Ebisu

"Hurry up, Kashi. We're going to be late!"

Kakashi stretched out on Iruka's couch, where he'd spent the night. The chuunin sighed as Kakashi only groaned irritably and flipped over on his stomach to bury his face into the pillow. As good a ninja as he was, the jounin just gated getting woken up early for anything other than a mission. Not that Iruka had many complaints... Kakashi never slept in a shirt while he was in Konoha... Wait! No! He couldn't be distracted by the Hatake's very nice torso, even if it was the sexiest chest he'd ever seen (and it was)! Agh, no, stop thinking about it, Iruka!

The chuunin leaned over the back of the couch and poked Kakashi, hoping against all odds that the little contact would wake up the older man. It didn't. Kakashi didn't move or make a sound, and Iruka propped his chin on his hand to go over his options. The party started in 20 minutes, which was maybe how long it'd take to get Kakashi off the couch and fully dressed. But no, Iruka refused to be late.

"Kashi, come on."

The jounin grunted, flapping a hand dismissively. "Go 'way." He was in the middle of a good dream... damn, Iruka was so adorable when he blushed like that...

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi lifted his face from the pillow and glared up at Iruka. Sure, he cared deeply for the chuunin, but waking him up was just too much. Unlike the countless shinobi Kakashi had faced, Iruka didn't back down; he glared back.

"I'm always late," the Hatake grumbled, pouting. "Why should I be on time just this once?"

"Because I'm telling you so," Iruka shot back, raising a brow.

"But 'Ru-chan~" Kakashi whined, his glare dying instantly. "I don't wanna get dressed~!"

"You have to get dressed, Kashi, even if there wasn't a party today." Iruka turned away to head into the kitchen, but he'd barely taken 2 steps when he was pulled against the very chest he'd been admiring earlier. Kakashi rested his chin on Iruka's shoulder and nuzzled his ear.

"But 'Ru-chan~" the jounin repeated, his warm breath wafting over Iruka's neck. "Why would I want to get dressed? We could have more fun here than over there."

Iruka blushed (which was what Kakashi had hoped for) and struggled to escape the arms holding him captive. "Kakashi! No! We have a party in 15 minutes! I told Ebisu we'd be there!"

"Let's not go. Come on, Iruka, pleeease? I feel like we've been drifting apart lately. It worries me. I... I like you a lot. Really." Kakashi turned the smaller man toward him and focused his mismatched eyes on Iruka's. "Can't I have just one day with you without us running off to some party?"

Iruka stared at him silently for a long minute. During that minute, Kakashi's hope grew. Maybe he'd get a day with Iruka, and only Iruka! He was so focused on keeping that thread of hope that he didn't notice when Iruka moved forward and pressed his lips to Kakashi's. The unexpected contact startled the jounin, but he wasn't about to complain. But just when he returned the kiss, Iruka pulled back and slipped from his arms, pointing toward the bedroom.

"Go get dressed so we can leave, Kashi. I don't plan on being late. Maybe if you behave, I won't make you sleep on the couch tonight."

Kakashi sighed. He just never won. With a defeated sigh, the great Copy-Nin trudged off to his boyfriend's bedroom to get dressed properly.

But next time... next time he'd win. He was sure of it.


	8. March 9 Tenten

**AN:** Yes, I know it's a day late. D: My internet decided to hate me yesterday. But, here it is! Tenten's birthday! Her age is based off of Shippuden, since this is set during Naruto's training with Jiraiya.

And before you ask, yes, I love torturing Kakashi sometimes. It amuses me.

* * *

"No! No, let me go! I don't wanna go with you! Let me sleeeeeep!"

Gai raised a brow at Kakashi, who he was trying to drag from the bed. The Hatake was putting up a good fight, but then again, Gai wasn't using all of his strength. And Gai wouldn't give up, not on this super special and youthful day! Kakashi would join him! His eternal rival had no choice in the matter!

"Kakashi! This is a birthday celebration! Come on or I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you there!"

The struggle paused, Kakashi mulling over his best friend's threat. Carried through the village over Gai's shoulder didn't sound too appealing, but neither did another birthday celebration. When would the birthday frenzy end?! He was beginning to feel like his entire life revolved around birthdays. When was the last time he had a NORMAL day?

"What is your decision, rival?" Gai asked seriously, not releasing his grip on Kakashi's ankles. Kakashi sighed and glanced over his shoulder, not releasing his grip on the bed's headboard, and then glanced over at the other side of the bed, where Iruka was (remarkably) still asleep. Even though Kakashi had gotten to sleep in the bed last night, nothing had happened except sleeping, to his disappointment. He knew it wasn't a good idea to wake Iruka up when the teacher was so tired, and, besides, if Gai took him from the apartment forcibly, he'd be at the party with nothing but pajama pants on. Not even his mask.

"Fine. Fine! Leggo so I can get some clothes on. Kami, why can't I just sleep in while I'm not off on missions?" he grumbled at last. Gai let go instantly and left the room, but Kakashi knew he was standing right outside the door. The jounin sighed and opened Iruka's closet, where he'd stored some extra clothes since he spent the night there and Iruka stayed at Kakashi's own apartment sometimes.

10 minutes later, Kakashi kissed the still-snoozing Iruka on the cheek, left a note on the counter, and followed Gai out of the apartment. "So, who's birthday is it, anyway?" he asked boredly, flipping open his Icha Icha book (what? He never went anywhere without it).

"Tenten's! She is turning 17 today! Just think... my little student is almost an adult! I'm so proud of her!" Gai's eyes teared up, which surprised Kakashi only a little. Gai was overly emotional, but he usually got all teary-eyed about his little mini-me, Rock Lee.

"Hm. That's nice. So have she and Neji hit it off yet?"

Gai's eyes widened. "What? Tenten and Neji? Please, Kakashi, they are simply teammates. Do not try to grow flowers where the buds of romance are not."

"Let's just get this over with. I want to get back before Iruka wakes up. He's much more agreeable in the morning."

Gai sighed, shaking his head. Though he was happy that his rival had found someone, Kakashi was still the pervert he'd always been. Well, some things never changed, he supposed.


	9. March 20 Morino Ibiki

**A/N – **I know, I know, I'm late again. Truth is, I was busy all weekend. But anyway, here's our favorite head of the Konoha's ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force. That's right; Happy late birthday, Morino Ibiki! Also, yes, I know the 18th was Kisame's birthday, but I couldn't post a member of Akatsuki's birthday and still keep with the KakaIru theme. So, I apologize.

* * *

"'Ru-chan?"

"Hmm?" Iruka asked sleepily, yawning and nuzzling his face into the pillow. It was the weekend. He didn't have to go to the academy today. Why was Kakashi trying to wake him up? This was why they hadn't officially moved in together yet. Kakashi couldn't decide if he wanted to wake up early or sleep late, so he switched between the two randomly. Today was a day he wanted to get up early, while Iruka wanted to sleep.

"Anko's throwing a party for Ibiki. It started an hour ago. I let you sleep in while I went to the memorial stone, but Anko threatened me with bodily harm if we don't go."

Iruka sighed and opened his eyes to see a fully dressed Kakashi with his favorite book in hand. Well, at least the jounin had let him sleep for a bit longer. The teacher sighed and sat up, stretching. "Anko and her threats. Haven't you learned by now that she only does it to get under your skin?"

"She still scares me sometimes. Point is, we've got a party and we're already late. So get up, get dressed, and let's go. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave. I've got to report to Tsunade about a mission later today."

That got Iruka's brain jumpstarted. He frowned and threw back the covers, glancing down to make sure he hadn't been stripped in the middle of the night. He was safe; his sleeping pants were still where they were supposed to be. Kakashi chuckled, and Iruka blushed when he realized what his thoughtless action could be taken for.

"Did you have a nice dream last night?" Kakashi asked, raising a brow. Iruka blushed again and shook his head. He hadn't had a nice dream like what Kakashi was implying. He would've died of embarrassment.

"So, moving on." Kakashi closed his book with a snap and stood up. "Hurry and get dressed. I don't care if Anko was bluffing or not, I'd like to keep everything she's threatened to cut off."

Iruka laughed and leaned forward, pulling down his boyfriend's mask and kissing him good morning. Before Kakashi could react, Iruka pulled the mask back up, gathered some clothes, and walked into the bathroom, closing the door securely.

"That's not fair, 'Ru-chan," Kakashi pouted in the other room.


	10. March 27&28 Hyuuga Hanabi&Haruno Sakura

**A/N: **That's right! We're back on! I'm on Spring Break until the 18th, and since I've got 4 birthdays that I've missed during FYE's downtime (Hanabi, Sakura, Udon, and Tonbo), I'm giving you a double special! They might be a bit short, considering it's past midnight here, and I'm giving you four birthdays in two chapters... yeah. First up, Hanabi and Sakura!  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Kyaa~! Can you believe it, Kakashi-sensei? I'm 15! Tsunade-shishou gave me the day off and everything! And Hinata planned it again, just like with Shino's birthday! I don't even mind that I'm sharing a party with her little sister! It almost makes me depressed that Naruto isn't here to help me celebrate. Don't you miss him too? I wonder if they're all right..."

"Sakura. You're rambling."

"Ahh, sorry, Kakashi-sensei! I'm just so excited!"

Kakashi chuckled, not glancing up from his book. Iruka had gone ahead to the Hyuuga compound to help Hinata and Hanabi set up for the chuunin and genin that were going to be at the combined party of one Haruno Sakura and one Hyuuga Hanabi. He'd given up on having a free day, what with missions and parties going on all the time. At least Iruka was invited to the parties, too, his mind reasoned. More Iruka time during social time. Life was good.

"Are you even listening?"

"Nope."

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"What? Naruto was always the one that listened to your rambling."

That seemed to calm the kunoichi down, even if just a little. "Do you think that's why Hinata's been so friendly toward us lately? Because if... if Naruto doesn't come back from his training, she'd have part of him here?"

"Naruto will come back, Sakura. He's with Jiraiya, and he'd never let anyone hurt the brat. Relax. Hinata truly enjoys our company, especially yours and Iruka's. She's not the type to use people like that."

"Of course! You're right! Come on, Kakashi-sensei, or we'll be late!"  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Thank you for coming to help, Iruka-sensei. Hanabi-chan isn't really in the mood for a party."

"It's no problem at all, Hinata-chan! Soon she'll come to appreciate your efforts to make her birthday as special as it can be."

"I made sure to invite Konohamaru-kun's team to make sure she had someone her own age, but I think she would have been fine with my age group," Hinata said quietly, glancing toward the room her sister inhabited at that moment in time. "She seems... so much more mature than Konohamaru-kun and his friends. I'm almost worried she'll act rude toward them."

"Give her a little more credit. She is a Hyuuga, after all, whether or not she attended the academy. So she acts older than her agemates. It will be fine. Gai and Kakashi sometimes act like children, so it'll balance nicely. Ah... I hope you don't mind Team Gai's attendance. Sakura insisted on it."

"Not at all! It's always a pleasure to see Lee-san and Tenten-san, as well as Gai-sensei! Neji-niisan will be distracted, at the very least."

"This time, I'll apprehend Genma at the door and relieve him of all alcoholic beverages on his person. Just in case."


	11. April 3&4 Udon & Tobitake Tonbo

**A/N: **So! This is the second part of my double-feature spring-break special. Udon/Tonbo Tobitake. March 3 and March 4, respectively. I know most of you probably don't remember who Tonbo is. To fix this simple fact, I ask you to think waaay back to the Chuunin Exam. There was a chuunin that sat next to the wall with his whole face from the nose up covered in bandages. This was Tonbo. Also, Udon's that kid on Konohamaru's team, with the glasses. Yeah, him.

* * *

Iruka sighed, tired out from the two birthday parties he was having to plan. He'd had to do the same exact thing just a week before, come to think of it. Why did people have birthdays so close to each other? He was an academy sensei, used to training pre-genin children, not a party coordinator! But he couldn't just say no; the pleased expressions on everyone's faces made him feel so good about himself.

"Konohamaru said not to worry about it, 'Ru," Kakashi said softly, coming up behind his boyfriend, leaning his forearms on the chuunin's shoulders, and resting his chin on Iruka's head. "Ebisu said he'd deal with that party, since it's his genin team, and Konohamaru's running around the village helping set things up."

The younger man sighed again, this time in relief. "That just leaves Tonbo."

Kakashi chuckled, wrapping his arms around Iruka's neck in a loose hug. "You don't have to throw a party for every single birthday that comes around, you know."

"But they appreciate it so much!"

"And if they knew how much time you're putting into it, they'd feel horrible."

"Don't you dare tell them, Hatake Kakashi!"

"I wasn't going to, but if it'll make you get more sleep instead of staying up all night..."

Iruka leaned his head back against Kakashi's chest, closing his eyes. He was always tired, come to think of it. Perhaps the jounin was right, and he needed more sleep and less time for planning. But one thing just didn't add up in Iruka's mind.

"You'd keep me up all night anyway, if you had the choice," he muttered.

"Ah, but staying up all night with me would relax you. Much better for your health than sitting at the table and planning a party." Kakashi's hand wandered up and loosened the hair tie keeping Iruka's hair out of his face. Moments later, the jounin had gathered up Iruka's plans and deposited them in an area away from the distracted chuunin. Iruka sighed irritably and fished another hair tie out of his pocket, redoing his ponytail in record time and standing up to get back his papers.

"Ah, ah, ah," Kakashi sang, smiling as he grabbed his boyfriend's wrists and pulled him toward his chest. "Time for you to relax, 'Ru. It's nearly midnight. The party's tomorrow night. You're free for the time being."

"No, Kashi, I'd rather get this done now so I won't be in a hurry tomorrow."

"I'd rather you got it done tomorrow when you're not dozing off at the table. Look, I'll even keep my hands to myself tonight, if it'll make you come to bed. You're exhausted."

"Kashi..."

"No arguments. Bed. Now." Kakashi released the chuunin and pointed toward the bedroom. "If you're not in your pajamas and under the covers by the time I get in there, we'll have issues."

"Fine, fine... you win this time."

"Sure, sure. I win every time."


	12. May 1 Akimichi Chouji

BAM! BAM!

Kakashi bolted upright in bed, his hair wilder and his eyes droopier than usual. He'd been up most of the night before, out drinking with the original Ino-Shika-Chou trio, plus Asuma and Kurenai. He'd forgotten why they'd decided to get drunk, but he seemed to remember something about a celebration of some sort; Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chouza seemed especially happy.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Right. The reason he awake to begin with. Why was someone banging on his door this early in the morning? He grunted, heaved himself up and off of the bed, and sat right back down on the edge when his head pounded painfully. So that was why he didn't get drunk often. Damn hangovers... As if the headaches from using the Sharingan weren't bad enough.

BAM! BAM!

He was going to Chidori his visitor into next week. Hangovers and loud noises did not mix. At all. The jounin pushed himself back to his feet, swayed for a moment, and glanced at himself in the mirror. Yikes. His eyes were bloodshot, which looked horrible with the Sharingan. He hadn't shaved, and his clothes were rumpled. The mask hung loosely around his neck, and Kakashi hoped he hadn't shown his face while he was drunk the night before.

BAM!

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he growled, pulling up his mask and flattening his hair to hang over his left eye. Even with a hangover, he wasn't going to expose the Sharingan to his visitor. No point in worsening his headache. When he finally opened the door a few seconds later, the next 'bams' were on his chest. Even caught off-guard, Kakashi didn't move other than to raise a brow. Yamanaka Ino seemed to realize that the solid 'thunk' wasn't the usual 'bam' of his door. She looked up at him blankly.

"You rang?" he asked boredly.

"You're not Iruka-sensei."

"Aren't we observant."

"I need Iruka-sensei!"

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder into his small apartment. Like he thought, it was dark and empty. He'd expected as much; he and Iruka had agreed to remain separate when Kakashi got drunk. The jounin was a very... 'affectionate' person when he had too much alcohol. Everyone else thought it was funny when Kakashi and Genma had gotten wasted at Ibiki's party and Kakashi had decided to grope Iruka. The chuunin hadn't spoken to him for a week after that.

"He's not here," Ino said, sounding disappointed.

"Your observation skills are astounding."

"But it's Chouji's birthday! We need Iruka-sensei's help to plan his party out! Our dads and Asuma-sensei are stuck inside with hangovers, so it's just us!"

So that was why they'd gone out drinking. Kakashi sighed. When would these parties end? Iruka needed time to relax and focus on his classes and his Kakashi time. These birthdays were starting to get annoying. "Hold on one second, Ino, and let me get decent. I'll help the Iruka hunt out a little."

He closed the door and leaned against it, sighing heavily. What he wouldn't give just to have Iruka to himself. It felt like they were growing apart, what with their time being divided into work and parties. There was no alone time, no super-special Kakashi-Iruka time. It was slightly depressing, but not enough that it would be apparent. Kami knew what Iruka would think if Kakashi was depressed.

Anyway. He had to be presentable before he wandered around the village looking for his boyfriend. The jounin straightened up and went back into his bedroom. Good thing he had more than one uniform. He exchanged the rumpled clothes with the un-rumpled ones, tugged his mask back down, and went into the bathroom to shave and brush his teeth. Not that it mattered, but he liked keeping clean. A few minutes after leaving Ino on his doorstep, he was opening the door and joining her outside.

"Let's get going, then. Have you checked his place?" The confused look she gave him answered that question. "Why check my apartment before his?"

"I thought you two lived together!" was her defense.

He sighed yet again. It was becoming a normal thing for him. "He could be at either the mission desk or his house if he's not with me. You go check the mission room." With a nod, she used a chakra-enhanced jump and was gone. Kakashi reached up, made sure his hitai-ate was securely over the Sharingan, and pulled out Icha Icha Paradise before he started walking toward Iruka's apartment.

Iruka opened his door after Kakashi's first knock, looking way better than Kakashi felt. Without a word, the chuunin held open the door for his boyfriend to go inside, which Kakashi did. The jounin leaned forward, gave the younger man a peck on the lips, and continued toward the couch, where he sat and raised his feet onto the table, never looking up from his book the entire time.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"To what do I owe this visit?" Iruka asked, having followed him.

"Chouji's birthday. Ino's looking for you. She woke me up. Got anything for a hangover?"

The chuunin laughed and reached out to ruffle Kakashi's hair. "You just missed Asuma asking for the same thing," he said when Kakashi glared up at him.

"The hangover help or the birthday help?"

"Both. I was about to go meet up with Shikamaru at his house when you arrived."

This time when Kakashi looked up, it was a pleading look. "Don't leave me. I missed you last night."

"You miss me every night."

"But especially last night!"

"Sorry, Kashi. They need me. I'll come back when I'm done helping, all right?"

"... Fine. Don't be too late, 'Ru, or I might go get drunk again out of loneliness."

Iruka laughed, kissed his boyfriend on the cheek, and walked off. "Kakashi the Drama Queen. Somehow, I don't think anyone will believe that."

"That's Mr. Drama Queen to you!" the jounin retorted just before the door closed.


	13. May 15 Kankuro

"Sensei?"

Iruka looked up from the mission desk, where he'd been reading a report from a new genin team. The handwriting was horrible, and the chuunin had been considering talking to Tsunade about requiring handwriting classes in the academy.

"Hello, Shikamaru. How can I help you?"

"It's troublesome, but the Kazekage and his siblings have just arrived, and Temari wanted to know if you'd help her plan Kankuro's party."

Iruka chuckled. "It seems like you're just the Sand's messenger, Shikamaru." When the younger chuunin sighed, the teacher held up his hands in an 'I surrender' gesture. "Sorry, sorry. How can I help with the party?"

The lazy genius raised a brow. "What are you asking me for? It's Temari's idea, not mind." He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "If you agreed to help, I was supposed to report back to her and she was going to find you herself once she gets free time."

Iruka knew better than to verbally discourage the boy's laziness, so he just nodded agreeably enough, answering the questions Temari had told Shikamaru to ask. Yes, of course he would help. Yes, he'd either be in the mission room or at his apartment for the rest of the day. No, Temari shouldn't check Kakashi's place, even as a last result. No, she shouldn't mention any party to the Copy Ninja at all. Yes, they were fine, but Kakashi was very against Iruka's party-planning hobby. No, it wasn't a big issue.

When the Nara finally left to report to Temari, Iruka turned back to the mission reports so he could finish them and head home. It looked like it was going to be a long day.  


* * *

Iruka walked into his apartment and kicked off his shoes, yawning and rubbing the back of his neck. He was ready to fall onto the couch and just go to sleep. If Temari knocked on the door, he'd hear it and wake up, so there was no reason to not do exactly what he wanted.

Except that there was already someone occupying his couch.

Kakashi was quite literally draped across the entire couch, with a leg hanging over the arm and one of his arms drooped over the side to brush the floor. He was on his stomach, his head turned toward the back of the couch, and, consequently, away from Iruka and the front door. The jounin's breathing was regular, and his flak jacket had been tossed on the armchair. It looked like the Copy Ninja had just taken off his flak jacket and did what Iruka had been planning to do.

The chuunin sighed. There went that plan. Seems like he was just going to have to wait up for Temari, and then head off to bed. It didn't sound very appealing, but it was better than the Sand kunoichi waking up Kakashi and telling him why she wanted to see Iruka. Wordlessly, Iruka moved the flak jacket from the armchair and put it and his own in the bedroom before collapsing in the chair himself. It smelled faintly like dog and more like Kakashi's shampoo. Within seconds, Iruka had dozed off.

He jerked awake when he heard Kakashi's voice talking about sleeping and being tired and would she mind coming back later? Iruka sat up quickly to see the door closing on a very confused Temari's. With a groan, he got to his feet and moved past his boyfriend to pull open the door again. Temari was still standing there. Kakashi now looked just as confused.

"Sorry, Temari. Er.. just let me grab my flak jacket and we'll be on our way, all right? What time are we going for?"

"In about two hours, Iruka-san. I've got Gaara distracting him for the time being, but I don't know how long that'll last."

"Right. Okay, hand on one second." He closed the door again and headed for the bedroom. Kakashi stood in his way, arms crossed and disapproving expression visible even through the mask.

"What's going on, Iruka?"

Ouch. He'd used Iruka's name instead of the expected ''Ru'. That wasn't a good sign. Iruka sighed and moved to the left to get around the jounin. Kakashi just shifted his weight to block him again.

"Temari needs my help for something, and we've only got about two hours to do it," the chuunin explained in exasperation, feinting to the right and dodging around Kakashi when the jounin fell for it.

"Another party?" Now the disapproval was in his tone, too. Yikes.

"Kashi, I'm not going to have this argument right now."

"You were so tired you came in and went right to sleep. You're in no condition to plan a party."

"You were asleep when I came in. How would you know what I did when I got home?"

"Iruka. I'm serious this time. You're wearing yourself out."

Iruka turned back toward the bedroom door, finding that Kakashi was still blocking it. Great. Now he was stuck in the room. The chuunin sighed.

"Kakashi, this has got to stop. I'm a shinobi; I know my limits. Stop mothering me. Please. This is just driving us apart. Do you really want that?"

"I want you to stop overworking," was the curt reply. "Yes, you're a shinobi. Yes, you should know your limits. But you're an academy teacher, you work at the mission desk, and now you're planning parties almost every week! That's not knowing your limits. That's going beyond them."

Iruka scowled. He had had enough. "We'll discuss this when I get home. But right now, Temari needs my help with Kankuro's party and I already told her I would be there. I won't be told what I can and can't do. If you can't deal with it, then maybe this was a mistake. Now, if you'd excuse me..." He pushed past the jounin, who let him go, and was out the door.

Kakashi stared at the door and sighed, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. Fine. He'd wait. And when Iruka got back, they'd have their argument. He would make that chuunin see reason.

Temari said nothing when Iruka joined her on the front step. She didn't mention that his eyes were slightly glassy, or that his warm smile looked forced. She made no comment on how his hands trembled when he pulled on his flak jacket. She didn't even raise a brow at the way he fumbled with the zipper for a moment before being able to use it.

'May 15,' Iruka was thinking, as he let Temari lead him toward the location of the party. 'Long work hours. Kankuro's birthday. Still no Naruto. Our first real fight. Welcome to hell, Umino Iruka. Enjoy your stay.'

**

* * *

A/N:** Yeah, again a day late. I was at a house with no internet all weekend, so I couldn't really post this chapter up. I couldn't do it before I left because it wasn't finished, so.. yeah. My bad. Anyway, don't hate me for the drama in this one. I thought it was about time for an actual argument. Sure, it may be a dumb one, but I think it works. Please comment and tell me what you think.  
Also, I want your views on putting up one of my other KakaIru fanfics. Summaries can be found on my profile. I'll put up a poll for you. The fanfics are School Daze and Kidnapped!, so go and cast your vote!


	14. May 26 Umino Iruka

**A/N**: Agh! Can't believe I'm late! I actually typed this one early and uploaded it, but forgot to actually add it in. It took me a bit to come up with an idea, what with the big argument last chapter, because it has to stay KakaIru yet it has to have birthdays. This was the perfect opportunity to at least halfway pull in canon. Nope! Not saying anymore! Read on if you want to know what I mean. Also, I'd like to thank Ryu Earth and Keami Huyga for giving me their views on every chapter so far and for following FYE so closely! I know that without Keami, I would've given up on this a while back, and Ryu makes me want to keep going so he can keep reading! (If you're a girl, I apologize.) Thanks, you two! Enjoy Iruka's birthday chapter, everyone!

* * *

It started out as any other morning, or at least how any other morning had started n the past week. Kakashi woke up alone in his silent apartment, feeling as though a major part of him was missing. The sun was shining brightly outside, so Iruka was probably at the academy already in the middle of a lesson with those bright-eyed little brats. It just wasn't fair; if one of the students messed up and made Iruka mad, the teacher just forgave them and everything went on as normal. The chuunin wasn't the sort of person to hold a grudge, or be mad at anyone for more than a few minutes. Or so Kakashi had thought.

POOF!

"Yo, boss."

Kakashi hadn't even sat up, and Pakkun was already there. What a great way to start the morning. The jounin grunted and turned over on his stomach, burying his face in the pillow and waving a hand dismissively at the pug.

"Boss?" The dog jumped up on the bed carefully as though expecting Kakashi to kick him off. It had happened before, after all, so there was no point in being careless.

The copy-ninja just groaned and pulled a pillow over his head to block out the sound of the pug's voice. Couldn't Pakkun see that he was wallowing in misery? Didn't the dog even notice that the apartment was missing a huge thing, namely a certain warm, smiling chuunin teacher? Surely he couldn't be that dense!

"This is important," the pug said, his disapproval of Kakashi's behavior obvious in his rough voice.

"Whaaaat?" Kakashi finally asked, removing the useless pillow and glaring over his shoulder.

"The Uzumaki brat's back in the village. The others are restless thanks to his chakra..." Pakkun's voice faded in the background as the now fully awake Kakashi say up abruptly and focused on locating a certain blond boy's chakra. Pakkun was still talking (about what, Kakashi didn't know or care) when the jounin bolted from the bed and hurriedly dressed. Stunned, the pug shut up. Kakashi pulled up his mask, secure his hitai-ate, and was out the window in an instant.

* * *

Iruka was at the academy, just like Kakashi had thought. While the children had their recess, he was inside grading papers. The kids had surprised him with a cake and the birthday song that morning, which had helped him feel slightly better. However, the empty, silent classroom made his loneliness return. There was no laughter, no paper shuffling, no bumps and creaks as kids leaned back to talk to their friends. No nothing.

He and Kakashi had barely spoken since their argument. Sure, they'd seen each other; t was hard not to, since Iruka worked in the mission room and Kakashi had been going on missions almost nonstop for the past week.

Almost as though Iruka's thoughts had summoned him, one of Kakashi's dogs poofed into being beside the teacher's desk. It was Guruko, whom Iruka had always considered his favorite out of the eight ninken. There was only one reason Kakashi would send Bisuke; he wanted the chuunin's attention for something, and wouldn't be ignored if he had a say in it.

"Iruka-sensei!" the dog exclaimed happily, his tail wagging with excitement. Iruka smiled genuinely for the first time since the fight, pushing his chair back from the desk to face the canine.

"Good afternoon, Guruko. How are you?" he asked, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms comfortably. He knew better than to try and pat the pup; favorite or not, Guruko was still a fierce ninken and wanted to be treated like one. No cuddling and petting unless the dog initiated it first; it had always been an unspoken agreement between the two.

"The boss hasn't summoned us for anything except missions lately," the dog admitted, his tail slowing but not stopping. "Even then he just gives us our orders and nothing else. You gotta cheer him up, Iruka-sensei! Pakkun misses his belly rubs!"

Iruka chuckled, but winced inwardly. He couldn't really tell the canine that he and Kakashi were taking a break from each other, that it was best for both of them to 'set their priorities straight', in Kakashi's words, without the other around to influence their decisions. After all, it had been Shiba and Guruko that first accepted Iruka as part of the 'pack', and the three had bonded almost instantly. To have to explain that he couldn't really do anything to help Kakashi didn't set well with Iruka.

"I guess I could talk to him about those belly rubs, if Pakkun misses them that much," he said, grinning down at the dog. "So, to what do I owe this visit?"

"Oh, right!" The tail-wagging again increased. "The boss wants you to meet him at Ichiraku Ramen a-sap." Nudging forward a previously-unnoticed envelope with his nose, Guruko sat up quite tall and favored Iruka with his most serious expression. "He says take that with you so you can get your birthday present. And don't be late! He has things to do and wants to make sure you have a nice day."

What was Kakashi thinking? It had been the jounin's idea to take a break in the first place, and now he was sending Guruko to relay a message to Iruka about meeting up? The chuunin couldn't suppress a sigh, but nodded anyway and picked up the envelope. "All right, I'll head over there once I can. Thanks, Guruko. Give the others my best."

"Sure thing, Iruka-sensei! Happy birthday!" And with that, Iruka was alone again, this time plagued by thoughts of Kakashi and this mysterious present.

* * *

Kakashi was reading his new book (Icha Icha Tactics, a gift from Naruto) on the roof of Ichiraku's when he felt Iruka's chakra. At the same time, Guruko appeared beside the jounin, expecting a reward for a job well done. The book lowered slightly, just enough for Kakashi to peer over it at the beautiful man walking closer, and he clamped down on his chakra to avoid being discovered.

Iruka didn't even glance up. The chuunin slipped into the stall and Kakashi allowed his tense muscles to relax slightly. He only had to wait a few seconds for the second part of his plan to appear. A familiar flash of blond hair darted in and out of view, from the corner into the shop. A few more seconds later, and the exact thing the jounin had been waiting for happened.

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Naruto?"

Pleased with himself, Kakashi patted Guruko's head and straightened up from his crouch, stowing away his book in his bag and teleporting back to his apartment. Only one thing was on his mind; he hoped that Iruka opened the envelope and saw the money for the duo's ramen before the chuunin paid with his own cash. After all, that was the point.

Only when he was relaxing on his couch, Icha Icha Tactics again in his hand, did Kakashi allow himself to smile. There was no better present for his little chuunin than the return of a favorite student. Naruto was precious to Iruka, and Kakashi understood that.

'_Happy birthday, 'Ru. Sorry I don't have the guts to apologize in person.'_


	15. June 11 Yuuhi Kurenai

**A/N:** Heh. A day late, I know. I was up all night typing this up, mainly due to the insomnia but also partly due to the fact that it's KURENAI'S BIRTHDAY! My favorite female jounin! And because, hey, our favorite couple needed a break, you know? So, I hope you enjoy this. I'm officially free for the rest of the month. Oho, but next month... that's gonna kill me. Band Camp, PLUS 6 chapters! Hehe... I must be nuts to be going through with this.

* * *

Kakashi trudged through Konoha, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the ground. It'd been about a month since his and Iruka's argument, and they hadn't spoken since. Well, other than from ninja to ninja, since Iruka did indeed work in the mission room. Setting Iruka and Naruto up so they'd run into each other had backfired horribly; now, most of the chuunin's free time was spent with the kid, when Kakashi himself wasn't training with Naruto and Sakura. It had hurt, indescribably so, when Naruto had shouted Iruka's name and run off just after training, and Iruka had greeted the boy but didn't even acknowledge Kakashi's presence. They hadn't broken up... they were just separated temporarily. Why couldn't they act like friends, at least?

Then came the invitation that morning. At first, Kakashi scowled at it and left it unopened on his kitchen counter. Iruka hadn't changed at all since the fight; he was still overworking himself with his stupid party-planning hobby. Only after he overheard a few jounin talking about some party did Kakashi satisfy his curiosity and open the envelope.

It was Kurenai's birthday party.

There was a small note on the corner, in Kurenai's handwriting, that she would really like it if he were to show up. That she hoped he could relax around friends and talk to someone, and get out of his 'weird depression'. Fine. He would go. It wasn't like he had anything else to do that night, anyway.

So that's why he was headed toward Kurenai and Asuma's shared apartment, still dressed in his jounin uniform (minus the flak jacket). Why should he dress up? It was just a party at a friend's house. Gai had left his apartment in that horrid green spandex outfit of his, so Kakashi followed suit (though in his own normal clothes, thank you).

Would Iruka be there? Would he get the chance to talk to the chuunin? Surely Genma would know better than to try to keep Kakashi distracted with conversation when the jounin could be cornering Iruka in some dark, out-of-the-way area and... No, Iruka looked better in the light, with it reflecting in his dark brown eyes, and in his soft, brown hair... what was he thinking about again? Iruka. Yeah, that made sense...

Lost in his Iruka fantasies, Kakashi didn't even notice when he arrived at his destination. Before he knew it, he had knocked on the door, been greeted, and pulled inside the loud, brightly-lit apartment. Jounin, special jounin, and chuunin alike were everywhere. Kakashi caught a glimpse of Hagane Kotetsu, a close friend of Iruka's, before the dark, spiky-haired chuunin vanished into the crowd. What had that expression been on Kotetsu's face?

"Kakashi! So glad you made it!" Asuma chuckled, clapping him on the back. For once, he wasn't smoking.

"Even though you're late," Genma muttered, raising a brow. "As always."

"Maa, if I didn't, you'd all hold me down and demand who I was and what I did with me," was the Copy Nin's only reply, complete with a happy curve of his eye. The other men chuckled and separated, leaving Kakashi standing alone by the door. He let his eyes sweep the room, and raised a brow when he met the gaze of Kamizuki Izumo, another close friend of Iruka's. Izumo's eyes widened when he realized he'd been spotted, and vanished much like Kotetsu had done.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

He was wandering around, greeting those who spotted him, secretly searching the crowd for a certain chuunin, when he happened to pass the bedroom. There were voices coming from within, one of which was painfully familiar. He couldn't help but pause just outside and listen.

"Iruka, please. It's not like you to sulk like this!"

"I'm not sulking, Ko!"

"You ARE sulking, and it's gotta stop!"

"Izumo, I'm not...!"

"He showed up to the party. He's _here_. This is the perfect opportunity!"

"Stop! Just... just stop. Please. I didn't come here tonight to be forced into some confrontation with...!"

The door opened, and Iruka came out, still talking over his shoulder. As it happened, Kakashi was standing in just the wrong place (or the right one, depending on who you asked) and suddenly found himself with an armload of chuunin. Time seemed to freeze. Kakashi's back touched the wall slightly from the force of the collision, and when Iruka stumbled backward, the jounin's arms instinctively went around him. Iruka glanced up just as Kakashi glanced down, and their eyes met. Iruka's were wide and shocked, and Kakashi's was mildly confused.

"Oh! Uh... Kakashi! Sorry about that, I..." When Iruka pushed against the Copy-Nin's chest, Kakashi's arms tightened around their treasure of their own accord. Iruka looked back up, confusion all over his face, and Kakashi offered one of his famous happy eye curves.

"Sorry, Iruka. Seems as though I don't like letting go of attractive chuunin that fall into my arms."

The chuunin blushed, but that adorable smile Kakashi liked so much was nowhere in sight. Instead, the teacher was putting more effort into getting away. Kakashi leaned down, ignoring the odd looks from Kotetsu and Izumo, and let his cheek gently brush against Iruka's.

"We need to talk, 'Ru," he muttered, so that only his 'temporarily separated' boyfriend could hear. "At least hear me out."

Iruka was so stunned he could only nod in agreement. Kakashi smiled behind his mask, genuinely, and glanced up at the other two chuunin. "If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow this room. Perhaps you two can go enjoy the party?" Speechless, they left, still staring blankly at their friend and the Copy-Nin, and Kakashi released Iruka as soon as they were in the room and the door was firmly closed.

"Kakashi, I don't know _what_ you're thinking, but if you're going to yell at me for...!"

A single glance killed Iruka's words. Kakashi crossed his arms, raised a brow, and leaned against the door. His eye swept over the younger man, and Iruka couldn't help but cross his arms in front of him self-consciously. He instantly wished he hadn't when he saw that smirk he used to like so much curve Kakashi's lips, visible even through that damned mask.

"Your temper hasn't changed any," the jounin said, faint amusement evident in his voice.

"Your attitude hasn't, either," Iruka shot back, too unnerved by the forced interaction to relax completely.

"Maa, Iruka-sensei, is that any way to speak to a friend?"

He was... he was _messing with him_. Kakashi was intentionally poking at Iruka's buttons to see if he'd start yelling. The mere thought of it pissed Iruka off. He hadn't joined the party just to get locked in a room with Kakashi! He wanted out, and now!

"Calm down. I told you we needed to talk."

That time, Kakashi's voice was calm, friendly. He sounded willing to hear everything Iruka had to say, no matter how much it might hurt. He sounded... downright sorry. That made Iruka take a few deep breaths and look the jounin right in the eye.

"Fine. You've got my attention. What do you want?"

"First... I want to say I'm sorry."

What. The famous Copy-Nin, apologizing? What had the world come to?

"Don't give me that look. I'm telling the truth here, 'Ru. I'm sorry that I was being... overbearing."

"By overbearing you mean controlling and possessive, right?"

Kakashi sighed. "Right. I was being controlling, possessive, and a complete idiot. This past month... it's been hell. Naruto's back, so I'm back on active training duty with him and Sakura. I barely have enough time to myself to get a decent night's sleep. We've been avoiding each other on a personal level since that stupid fight, and I think it's time we've settled our differences."

Iruka remained silent for about a minute. Kakashi shifted nervously under the teacher's gaze, and fought the urge to reach up and check his mask's position.

"In other words, you're lonely and hoping that we can put this behind us. Am I right?"

"Yes."

Iruka sighed. "You know we can't just forget about this."

"We can accept our differences and go back to how we used to be. I won't get pissed because you've found a hobby that makes other people happy, and you won't make me sleep on the couch because I show up late for some important thing." At Iruka's skeptical expression, the jounin sighed. "I'm trying, here. Help me out, please?"

"... Fine. We'll give it another try. Okay?"

Kakashi smiled. "Then how about dinner, tomorrow night? I'll pick you up at 6."

Iruka allowed himself a small smile, and raised a brow. "I'll make reservations for 8, so we can make sure we make it in time."

"Good idea." Kakashi reached down and opened the bedroom door, and noise flowed in from the party. When Iruka passed him, the jounin leaned down and brushed his masked lips across the younger man's cheek. "Thanks, 'Ru. I won't let you down."

Iruka felt his face heat up. "See that you don't, Kashi."

With a grin, Kakashi let the chuunin join the crowd, and closed the bedroom door behind them as they left. Now it was time to visit the birthday girl...


	16. July 3&4 Hyuuga Neji & Baki

**A/N**: Again, a double feature! This one wasn't planned like that, but hey, holiday weekend. And I'm late again. But it's okay! Also, I've decided that the rating will **not** go up on this fanfic. I'm not putting a lemon or even a lime into this, because it focuses on birthdays, not sex. So please, stop asking. Every relationship isn't focused around sex; why should this one be?

* * *

"No."

"But...!"

"No."

"This is...!"

"Answer's still negative."

Gai stared at his rival, exasperation having replaced his usual bright grin. This was ridiculous! He'd simply asked a small favor of the other jounin, and Kakashi hadn't even bothered looking up from his book! This was an important matter, and he would and could still use his threat he'd used 4 months ago. This time, though, the Copy Nin wasn't in pajamas, nor had he been forcibly awakened. Both jounin were standing in the mission room, one ready to turn in a report and the other waiting for a certain chuunin to get off work. And there was no way Kakashi would leave without Iruka, so there was no way he'd disappear to escape the Beautiful Green Beast.

"And why not, Eternal Rival?" Gai finally asked, adopting an expression that looked just _wrong_ on his face when he raised one of his horribly large eyebrows at the jounin before him.

"Because 'Ru and I have plans. We can't drop everything because Neji's being forced to celebrate his birthday. You know as well as I do he wants to be left alone. Just do what he wants, for today. No offense, but you and Lee get a bit... overzealous when it comes to things like this. And Neji is not the type to be pleased or touched that you're annoying him today of all days."

"Rival...!"

"Kashi!"

Both jounin turned when the aforementioned chuunin appeared beside them. Kakashi's expression brightened, and he lowered the book for the first time since Gai had showed up. Iruka looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering just what he'd interrupted, and then remembered an important fact he'd learned earlier that morning.

"Oh, Gai, would you mind telling Neji happy birthday for me? I would find him myself, but Kashi and I have just enough time to get home and get ready."

Gai gaped. Even the gentle, warm sensei was helping his rival get out of Neji's birthday celebration? This just wasn't fair! Then, he remembered. His rival and the teacher had been practically inseparable since they made up last month, so they would both fight to keep whatever plans they'd made for tonight instead of anything else. It was... it was so romantic! Who knew his eternal rival could be such a lovesick idiot?

Kakashi and Iruka both took small steps backward when tears welled up in the spandex-clad man's eyes. They exchanged glances before nodding simultaneously and disappearing in twin poofs of smoke, leaving behind the wailing jounin and his long speech about the 'Springtime of Youth' and 'Flowers of Love'.

* * *

"Any idea why Baki-san invited all of the Konoha jounin to his birthday dinner?" Iruka asked, tilting his head to the side curiously as he inspected his boyfriend's attire for the night. The dinner was being held at one of Konoha's nicer restaurants, and Iruka refused to let Kakashi wear his normal jounin uniform.

"Probably because he's stuck here in our village on his birthday instead of with his own friends and such back in Suna," the Copy Nin replied, turning around when the teacher twirled his fingers, telling him to do so.

"Gaara-sama, Temari, and Kankuro are here with him."

"Those were his students at one point in time. I don't think he's particularly close to them."

"Gaara-sama is the Kazekage, and the other two are jounin. Why _wouldn't_ they be close?"

"I'm not all that close to Naruto and Sakura. I knew them when they were pathetic, troublesome brats, and they'll always be my little genin team. Maybe Baki's team wasn't that weak, but it's the same principle. Can I _stop_ turning now?"

"Yes. That's fine. Now, let's get going before we get too much later. I'm sure Baki-san isn't familiar with your usual lateness, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"But being late is my thing!"

"And being early is mine. So, we compromise and be on time."

"... I dislike that compromise. Let's compromise something else instead."


	17. July 7 Inuzuka Kiba

**A/N:** D: Two days late! I'm so sorry. I had it typed up and the document was on the site, but I forgot the 7th was a due date, and the 8th I was sure I had posted it. How wrong I was, eh? Anyway, here it is, and I apologize again. Someone should send me a message on the 15th not to forget Genma's on the 17th. D: Anyway, without further ado (not that my author notes are that long anyway), here's the chapter!

* * *

"I'm sorry, what?"

The group of shinobi in the mission room was staring blankly at a certain wild and violent jounin. The trio instinctively sank back in their chairs, away from the woman in front of them. Only Iruka seemed at ease, and was the only one of the guys that was capable of speech at that moment.

"The pup's having a party, and I promised to stay out of the way," Inuzuka Tsume repeated slowly. Confusion filled the faces of the chuunin before her. This conversation was currently making no sense at all. Of course, Tsume generally didn't make any sense, but this was beyond the usual.

"What's that got to do with us?" Izumo asked warily, finding his voice. "Anko's asked us to go out drinking tonight, so I'm not chaperoning some party."

"Consider your plans changed," the woman replied, shrugging. "I said _I_ wouldn't be there, but I'm not leaving Hana alone with a shitload of partying teenagers."

"But if we cancel on Anko, she'll murder us!" Kotetsu exclaimed. "No! No! A thousand times no!"

"We'll be there, don't worry, Tsume-san."

"Iruka?"

"What the hell are you saying?"

The teacher ignored their outbursts for the moment. His eyes were locked on the room's only female, the only one he found truly scary. One just didn't look away from a dangerous wolf unless one wanted to die, and Iruka, for one, did _not _want to die. "I know most of the kids that are going to be there, so I'm the logical choice to go. Besides, Anko doesn't need friends to go out drinking with."

"Glad you can help, Ruka," Tsume said, smiling warmly. Iruka found himself smiling back, and was still smiling when he turned to his friends after she left.

"Get Anko. It's time to face the music."

* * *

"Welcome home."

Kakashi glanced up from his task of kicking off his sandals and stripping off his flak jacket. Iruka was relaxing on the couch, dressed in civilian clothes and reading a book. Wait. Back up. Civilian clothes? "I thought Anko's drinking dress code was normal uniform," he said, adopting a confused expression as soon as he pulled down his mask. "When did that change?"

"It didn't. Me and the guys are going to chaperone Kiba's party," was the reply, and Iruka turned a page in his book.

"On Anko's drinking night?"

"She rescheduled."

"She _never_ reschedules."

They were silent for a moment, during which time Kakashi got on the couch and leaned over the mildly distracted chuunin. As much as he wanted to further distract his boyfriend, it was much smarter to finish the confusing conversation they were having. Besides, that damn book was in the way.

"...she rescheduled _this_ time."

"Why?"

"..."

"You haven't talked to her, have you?"

"We were _going_ to, but I couldn't find her and the guys were convinced she'd murder them if they found her first."

"...I honestly can't see what's so scary about her."

By then, Iruka noticed their position. He raised a brow up at the jounin, who was smirking. "... Is there a reason you're hanging over me and my book?"

"Nope, not really."

"Well, off. It's about time for me to leave anyway."

"But I'm comfortable."

"The guys will be here any minute. What do you think they'll think if they see you all over me on the couch?"

"That we look like we're having fun, or that I'm comfortable. Which I am. Relax, 'Ru, they probably won't show anyway, if they're that scared of Anko."

As though on cue, a knock came on the door. Kakashi's grin fell instantly into a look of mild irritation, and he got off the couch while pulling his mask back up. Iruka chuckled lightly and also stood, dropping his book on the coffee table and hugging his jounin from behind when Kakashi turned to go into their bedroom.

"You can come with us, if you want."

Kakashi shook his head. "It would be better if I didn't. Genma and Asuma are coming over later. If I ditch them, they'll find me and crash the party." He smiled again and pulled on one of Iruka's hands until the chuunin was in front of him. "I would, but too many older people at a teenager's party would blow their simple minds."

"Point taken." Iruka sighed lightly, resting his forehead against Kakashi's and relaxing in the older man's embrace. It was a normal occurrence for them to just stand there and hold each other, since they had gotten so much closer after the separation. Only the insistent knocking on the door broke them apart.

"Forgot they were there..." the chuunin admitted sheepishly.

"You were just lost in the amazingness that is me."

"Shut up, Kashi."

"Love you too. Now go and have fun before _my_ people show up."

"Don't break anything."

"Do I ever? ... Wait, don't answer that."


	18. July 17 Shiranui Genma

**A/N: I'm sorry I'm so late.** If you don't read author notes, at least read that one sentence. Band camp started this week. And I had no internet over the weekend. So. Enjoy this late chapter, and get ready for another one in a few hours. Wow, I'm so late it's someone else's birthday... Now I feel bad.

* * *

BAM! BAM!

The loud noise jerked Iruka from his slumber, and the chuunin sat upright instantly. Dark eyes searched out the clock, blinking blearily at the red numbers. 1:23? Who the hell would be knocking on his door at _this_ time of night? Whoever it was had to have a death wish; Iruka had class in the morning and had been up late grading papers. He was tired, dammit, and he wanted to go to sleep.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

His eyes narrowed. Yes, his visitor had a death wish. The teacher threw back the covers (barely noticing that the other side of the bed was still made and cold) and got to his feet, stumbling blindly toward the door. The bangs had stopped almost as soon as his feet hit the floor. Hopefully, whatever they needed was important. If not, Konoha was to be missing a shinobi or two.

"Iruka!"

"Raidou?"

It was indeed the scarred special jounin on his doorstep. There was a sheepish apologetic look on his face, and Iruka's ire faded. Raidou wasn't the kind of person to both someone for no reason. But what, exactly, was his reason this late at night? Raidou wasn't saying anything, just looking like he was expecting to get scolded.

"Er... what's up?" Iruka said after a solid minute of silence. He'd crossed his arms a bit ago, just so he wouldn't feel so exposed in just his pajama pants. It was strange; normally he didn't care... but then again, he didn't know Raidou very well.

"Right." It was as though Iruka had flipped a switch. Raidou moved to the left, almost completely out of sight, and bent to pick something up. The darkness of the night kept Iruka from identifying what Raidou had until both were back in the rectangle of light that Iruka's doorway created.

It was Kakashi.

A very drunk, unconscious Kakashi.

"We were at Genma's party, and... well, Gen was so drunk he though his name was Menga, Anko didn't help the situation, Tonbo and Ebisu had passed out, and I thought I'd bring Kakashi on home."

The teacher eyes the Copy-Nin warily. Drunk Kakashi was handsy Kakashi, and handsy Kakashi got on Iruka's nerves. But... the jounin was also unconscious, which meant no random groping. Not that groping was ever really 'random' with Kakashi... and not that Iruka really minded all that much... oh crap. He got sidetracked again.

"Well?" Raidou asked, sounding a bit nervous, as though bringing Kakashi back hadn't been his smartest idea of the night.

"Right. Sorry, Raidou, come on in." The teacher moved back to allow the special jounin entrance to his home, and pointed out the door to the bedroom when Raidou glanced between him and the couch quizzically. As soon as the scarred man disappeared from sight to dump the (now snoring) Kakashi on the bed, Iruka plopped down on the couch and rubbed his forehead at the headache that was already appearing. He didn't even hear it when the bedroom door closed softly and Raidou reentered the room.

"Sorry to have bothered you so late, sensei."

Iruka flinched, which caused the special jounin's eyes to widen in surprise. What shinobi flinched when spoken to, really? "Ahh, no problem," the teacher muttered, forcing a laugh. "I'm glad he's home, really, so I don't have to worry about him not being here in the morning. He does some crazy shit when he's drunk."

"Don't I know it."

Startled, Iruka looked up sharply at the older man, who just grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "Well, I'd better get going. Leaving behind a drunk Anko wasn't the best idea. Have a good night, Iruka."

He was gone before Iruka could even form the words "Good night, Raidou'. What exactly had the special jounin meant when he'd said he knew what crazy shit a drunk Kakashi got into? Either way, tomorrow morning before class, a certain Copy-Nin was going to get scolded, and then interrogated. Some stories Iruka just had to know, for curiosity's sake.

With a groan, Iruka pushed himself to his feet and crawled back into bed, putting a pillow over his head to block out his boyfriend's drunken snoring. No, it still wasn't legal to smother someone for snoring too loudly, even if that someone was a legendary shinobi of the village. _Especially_ if that someone was a legendary shinobi of the village.

Damn laws.


	19. July 21 Hagane Kotetsu

**A/N: **So. Today is double-feature day, since I was super late with last chapter. Sorry if they seem really unlike themselves, I made do with the little time I had for this one. Well, enjoy!

* * *

"No, I'm not letting you go with me just so you can get drunk."

"How about letting me go with you so I can give one of your best friends a birthday present?"

"Does it involve you getting drunk?"

"...No?"

"You're a bad liar."

"But I'm an awesome boyfriend, right? ... Right? Hey, why are you walking away? 'Ruuuuu~"

Iruka paused at the door and glanced back at the Copy Nin, who had gone from lounging on their couch to hanging half over the arm, his hands nearly touching the ground as he stared after the chuunin with a positively pitiful expression on his face. Somehow, Iruka didn't think that anyone would believe him if he announced to the world that Kakashi was more like a puppy than even Pakkun would care to admit. After all, the jounin was one of the elite of the village, who always seemed so aloof and laid-back in the outside world (read as: outside the apartment).

"Listen, Kashi. Kotetsu only invited a few close friends to celebrate. A _few_. So dragging you along wouldn't be all that welcome."

"But I don't have anything to do," the legendary Copy-Nin whined.

"Read your books or something. You went out earlier this week for Genma's party, so now it's my turn."

"But I don't want my books when I've got you to entertain me."

"If Jiraiya ever hears you say that, he'll die of shock. Besides, didn't you once burst into my apartment and tell me _you_ were there to entertain _me?_"

"That was months ago. Some things change after a while. I found that out when we had that argument and separated temporarily. Now, we entertain _each other. _Yes? Aww, 'Ru, you're not supposed to turn back to the door! I'm being a good boyfriend today! Don't leave me alone! I'll be..." There was a long pause, during which Iruka glanced over his shoulder and saw Kakashi sitting up straight with a shocked and horrified expression. Worry came like a flood and Iruka turned back, taking only one step when the jounin finished his thought. "I'll be _lonely!"_

The teacher stopped himself from taking another step, and hit his forehead with his palm to express his frustration with the silver-haired shinobi on his couch. "Kashi, what have I told you about taking painkillers for hangovers? And about getting drunk?"

"To not to?"

"Then why did you?"

"Gen told me to."

There was yet another lengthy pause. "I'm starting to think Genma's a bad influence on you."

"He says I'm funny when I'm drunk."

"Now I'm _sure_ Genma is a bad influence."

"It's okay, 'Ru. He's a _good_ bad influence. Why else would he keep Raidou around other than to make sure we don't do anything stupid?"

"... Have you ever thought Raidou's sticking around to do that, without Genma telling him to?"

"... No, not really."

"Sometimes you're hopeless, Kashi. Listen, I'll be back later, okay? It's just a little get-together."

"Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely, I've got nobody, to call my own~"

"Yeah, I'm hiding the painkillers in a different place from now on."


	20. July 23 Uchiha Sasuke

Iruka stared at the odd trio before him, wondering why they were there and what exactly they were doing. It'd been all around the village that Team Kakashi had been hanging around the training field all day, and, out of curiosity, the chuunin had dropped by after class. What he'd found was a small, picnic-like meeting, with Kakashi lounging against a tree with his nose in his book, Naruto chowing down on some ramen and talking to Sakura, and the Hokage's apprentice halfway listening to her teammate and halfway scolding him for talking with food in his mouth. It was a very homey scene, one that warmed Iruka's heart to see. Naruto had truly changed a lot, in more ways than one, while he had been off training with Jiraiya. He wasn't the small child that Iruka had taken under his wing anymore; he was a grown boy, and a mighty fine one at that. The teacher was proud of him.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled, jumping up and running over to hug Iruka tightly. "I didn't know you were coming! See what Bakashi-sensei did for us?" He gestured wildly at the picnic blanket and his team. "Isn't this so cool? It's like a family!"

Iruka looked over at his boyfriend and smiled when he noticed that the Copy-Nin wasn't even paying attention to his book anymore. The jounin's single eye was focused on the party-crasher, and the book had been lowered almost unnoticeably to help in his ogling. It made Iruka want to laugh at the way Kakashi was waiting to break the news to Naruto about their relationship, yet the poor jounin could barely keep his normal aloof, laid-back ways once the teacher appeared. It was... cute. In a completely manly way.

"Bakashi-sensei?" Iruka asked on cue, when he tore his eyes away from the topic of conversation and looked back at his favorite ex-student.

'Well, Kakashi-sensei's obviously a baka," was the teen's only explanation, accompanied by a shrug of his shoulders. "I've been calling him that for a while, Iruka-sensei. Haven't you noticed?"

"Eheh..." Iruka scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "It sounds enough like his name that I just never thought about it, I guess."

Naruto stared at the teacher for a full minute, making Iruka more and more uncomfortable with each passing second, and finally shrugged again and dragged the poor chuunin over to the rest of the team. "Guys! Look who showed up!" he shouted, like Iruka hadn't walked up in plain sight. Sakura raised a brow and glanced over at Kakashi, who instantly snapped his gaze back to his book.

"Iruka-sensei. Nice to see you here," the jounin said, his tone indifferent and his eye never leaving his book. Iruka could feel Sakura's intense gaze on him as the teacher smiled warmly.

"I hope you don't mind me intruding, Kakashi-sensei."

Obviously not expecting Iruka to go along with his charade, the jounin's gaze flew up to his boyfriend's face in shock. Sakura lightly coughed and nudged her teacher, and the aloof Copy-Nin was back.

"Of course not, Iruka-sensei. In fact, why don't you join us? I'm sure Naruto and Sakura wouldn't mind," he said, giving one of his famous eye-curve smiles that they were all familiar with. Only Iruka, however, knew that the mouth behind that mask was also lifted up in a pleased expression, and he idly wondered how long they'd have to walk carefully around Naruto. The boy was 15, for Hokage's sake.

Sakura shuffled over quickly to free the spot against the tree beside Kakashi, having known of their relationship since the very first date. She had, in fact, noticed the attraction between them and had pushed for them to get together in the first place. Come to think of it, Sakura was also the one who had suggested that Naruto get settled back into village life before breaking the news of his teachers' relationship. That girl loved to meddle, but at least she was good at it.

"Here, Iruka-sensei, sit next to me!" she said quickly, pulling the teacher down into the designated spot. "I'm sure you'll want to rest against the tree after a long day at the academy, right?"

"Er... right?"

As soon as he sat down, Sakura sat between the two men and Naruto, and asked a question that sent the boy back into stories of his training with Jiraiya. Iruka barely had time to ponder the seating arrangement when he felt a warm hand grasp his own. A glance downward confirmed his suspicions, and he smiled softly, intertwining their fingers and letting himself enjoy the relaxing aura that surrounded them.

Naruto would find out about them eventually, but for now, he would enjoy the time he spent with Kakashi without the boy getting overprotective over him.

"So, what's the occasion?" he muttered, when he was sure neither Sakura nor Naruto were listening.

"... Sasuke's birthday."


	21. August 2 Tsunade

It was supposed to be a lazy day. They were supposed to lie around all day and enjoy each others' company. Kakashi had even canceled training with Naruto, Sakura, and Sai for the entire day, and Iruka had asked for a day off from mission room duty. Nothing was supposed to ruin it.

But when does anything go according to plan?

Knock, knock!

Kakashi groaned and lifted his head, glaring at the front door. He didn't want to move from his spot on the couch; Iruka was asleep on his chest, and he looked so adorable and peaceful that Kakashi didn't want to wake him up. The jounin let his head fall back on the arm of the couch and sighed heavily.

Knock, knock!

"We don't want any!"

"Open the door, Hatake-san."

Damn. Shizune didn't make random house calls. This couldn't be good. Surely he wasn't needed for a mission. That would be incredibly unlucky, and Iruka probably wouldn't be pleased about it.

"Door's unlocked. Quiet, though. 'Ru's asleep."

The door opened and Shizune entered, dressed up in a nice kimono that looked expensive. Kakashi's eye widened considerably, especially when a sullen Genma followed her inside, also dressed nicely, and without his usual senbon. What the hell was going on? Why was Genma here?

"Tsunade-sama is holding a black-tie affair today. Chuunin and up are required to go. Get up and get dressed, Hatake-san. It's a special day, so you shouldn't be lazing about."

Kakashi gaped at the woman. "But it's Lazy Day! Me and 'Ru have been planning it all week! You can't just march in our apartment and ruin it!"

Genma winced and looked ready to go right back out the door. The last time he'd interrupted one of Kakashi's 'Lazy Days' had ended badly. It wasn't as though the Copy Nin made such days on a regular basis; they were few and far between. That was why you avoided ruining one at all costs.

"Consider me doing just that. Up," was Shizune's only reply.

Kakashi glared at her, unwilling to do as he was told. She glared right back, not backing down an inch.

A sigh distracted both of them from their glaring match. "How did I know Lazy Day would be interrupted?" Iruka asked, not moving just yet.

"It's Tsunade-sama's birthday," Genma said helpfully, edging backwards toward the door.

"_Another_ birthday?"

"That's what I've been saying all year!" Kakashi exclaimed, grinning.

"Kashi..."

"Shutting up."


	22. August 23 Temari

**A/N:** Sorry it's shorter than usual. Or, it seems like it to me. I was typing up the next chapter to 'Return of Rin' when I remembered what day it was, so this one wasn't very thought out. Hope you all like it! As always, thanks to the reviewers. My 50-review kiriban for FYE is coming up - the lucky Reviewer #50 will get either a fanfic request, a chance for a collab, or anything else fanfic-related they can think of! Said reviewer will receive a message from me, so get to reviewing!

* * *

"I'm very sorry, Temari-san. I've been so busy lately that I completely forgot!"

"But you're okay, right, Iruka-san? You look sick!"

"No, no, I'm fine. Really. I've just been working a lot, and the kids are getting more energetic every day. And with Kashi back on active duty, nobody's around to tell me to take a break."

Temari frowned at the pathetic sight in front of her. The normally tan sensei was quite pale, and his usual ponytail was pulled back almost lazily, hanging lower than she was used to. His uniform was wrinkled, his smile was forced, and he looked ready to collapse where he stood. She narrowed her eyes and moved forward, pulling one of his arms over her shoulders and placing her small, delicate-looking hand on the small of his back. He flinched at the unexpected contact, but she held on and led him back inside.

"Don't you worry about planning my party today, Iruka-san. You're sick, and you're going to stay in bed until you're better. Look at you! I'm surprised you can walk by yourself right now!"

"Temari-san, I assure you, I'm fine. Just a bit tired." Despite his firm tone of voice, there was an exhausted tremble behind it, and he stumbled slightly. Temari clucked her tongue disapprovingly and easily dragged the man into his bedroom, dumping him on the bed and pushing him flat on his back when he tried to sit up.

"Stay!"

"Temari-san, please, I have papers to grade!"

"Not anymore, you don't! I'll do them. Where are they?"

"It's your birthday! You should be out celebrating, not doing my job!"

"You're sick. It's only right to help you. Stop focusing on everyone else, Iruka-san, when you could easily kill yourself with exhaustion. Now, where are your papers? If I have to, I'll turn this entire place upside down to look for them."

"Please don't," he groaned as he laid his head on his pillow, giving up on his struggle to get to his feet. "Kashi hates the apartment messy. He'd have a fit."

Temari couldn't help but giggle at the thought of the great Hatake Kakashi throwing a tantrum about a messy apartment. She could easily picture him stomping his foot and crossing his arms, his visible eye narrowed in a hateful glare. So... was that the man behind the mask?

"He's a lot different than he acts around the village, isn't he, Iruka-san?"

"You have _no_ idea." The chuunin sighed and rubbed his eyes. "The papers are in my bag, over there. Please don't be too harsh with them... they're only pre-genin."

"Of course not, Iruka-san. I had students at one point too, you know. Kankuro and I _are_ jounin ourselves."

"Eh. Just be nice while I take a short nap..." Already, the poor teacher was dozing off. His breathing soon became regular, and Temari pulled the covers over him before fetching the papers and getting to work.


	23. August 28 Namiashi Raidou

**A/N:** Yes, it's short. I'm finding less and less time to actually write a decent-sized chapter, what with school and extracurricular activities. But, enjoy!

* * *

"Iruka-sensei! Raidou-san is here!"

Iruka winced at the loud voice of his favorite ex-student. Naruto had proclaimed himself the ill chuunin's bouncer, not letting anyone inside unless Iruka said it was all right. As touched as the teacher was about the arrangement, he had to admit that the constant yelling of who had shown up was getting tiring.

"Let him in, Naruto."

"Hai, sensei!"

Mere seconds later, Raidou appeared at the door to the bedroom. Sakura lingered near the head of the bed, ready to shove anyone she had to out of the room if Iruka showed signs of being tired. Or, more tired than he already was.

"Morning, Iruka-san," Raidou said, smiling and raising a hand in greeting. "I heard you haven't been feeling well lately, so I decided to drop by."

"You didn't have to do that," Iruka replied, returning the smile. "After all, today's your special day, isn't it? Surely you've got better things to do than visit a sick academy sensei."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Point is, I wanted to come by and thank you."

"Thank me? For what?" was the confused answer.

Now Raidou was confused. "For the party, of course. What else?"

"Raidou-san, I haven't planned a party for over a month."

"But Kakashi-san..."

Iruka's eyes widened. Kakashi had planned a party, as busy as he was with missions and training? That just didn't make any sense whatsoever. And to give Iruka the credit... that was so strange...

"Kashi..."

_Thank you._


	24. September 15 Hatake Kakashi

**A/N: **It's what we've all been waiting for! (or, at least, what I've been waiting for :3) Kakashi's birthday! I apologize on the shortness... I wanted it to be longer, but if I'd gone farther than this, I was worried I'd get distracted and be late! As Kakashi-like as it would have been, and probably a good thing for his birthday, I decided it'd be better to not risk being late by a few days (knowing my attention span). So, enjoy!

**P.S:** Shout-out to Ryu Earth! Hope you liked your kiriban prize. Everyone else, go check it out! It's called 'Doughnuts and Sake', by yours truly (me).

* * *

It was a peaceful day in Konoha. Too peaceful. Too quiet. A certain Copy-Nin poked his head around a corner and peered down the street, before turning his head and peering down the other way. He repeated this a few more times before sighing in relief and plopping down on the ground in his secret alleyway. He really wanted to go home, shower, and change clothes. But he wasn't. No sir-ee , he was _not_ going into that apartment.

Kakashi had just returned from a mission. He'd requested it specifically because of its estimated time to take at least a week to complete, and underestimated himself severely; he'd lost track of time while out in the wild and arrived back in Konoha after only three days in the relative safety of the mission location. Was he really calling his current predicament more dangerous than an A-class mission?

...Yes. Yes he was.

How could he have known that he'd be home on _this particular day?_ It was impossible. He made a plan before he left: take one day to get to the mission, five to complete it, and another day to get home. He'd actually gone slower during the traveling days than he'd meant to. But no, it'd only taken one day to complete the mission, so he was home 4 days before he wanted to be.

"Can't hide forever..." he muttered, sighing again, this time in disapproval at his own behavior.

"Who are we hiding from?" a deep baritone voice asked, from his left, further into the alley than Kakashi himself was sitting. In his distracted state of mind, he answered without thinking about it, or who his companion might be.

"Gai and Iruka. Kami, I hope they don't find me until tomorrow..."

"Why not?" another voice, this one far nicer than the first, asked, also to Kakashi's left. "What are you so scared of?"

"Today's not a good day."

"What day is it?"

Kakashi froze. Those voices suddenly sounded very familiar. So familiar, in fact, that chills ran up the back of his neck, and he felt like certain doom was about attack him. His head turned so slowly you could almost hear the creaks in his neck, and he found himself face to face with the very people he was trying to avoid.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"


	25. September22&23 NaraShikamaru&YamanakaIno

"Leave me alone," a certain chuunin groaned, rolling over on his stomach to hide his face in his arms. "I don't wanna celebrate today. Go bother Ino or something..."

Kakashi raised a brow, and reached out to poke the irritable boy. The only reaction was a long sigh, and Shikamaru's head popped up to glare at the Copy-Nin, who had covered up his action by adopting his usual bored expression and burying his nose in his book. The Nara's eyes slid over to Iruka, who was standing beside Chouji and engaged in conversation, before dismissing the obviously preoccupied teacher and locking back on Kakashi. The older man read on, seemingly oblivious to the look he was currently receiving.

"My birthday was yesterday," Shikamaru said slowly. "And I didn't celebrate it then, so why should I celebrate it now?"

"Because 'Ru needs more to do with his free time. With it being a small vacation for the academy, he has way too much time on his hands and I'm tired of him cleaning the apartment like crazy. So, you and Ino's birthdays offered something for him to do. Deal with it."

"Go throw a huge party for Ino, then, and leave me out of it!"

"But that's not fair, Shikamaru," Kakashi said teasingly. "It was your special day, and Iruka _really_ needs to get out of the house before he cleans me to death."

Shikamaru's head dropped back into his arms with a groan. He muttered something, but all Kakashi could catch was 'damned... why can't they... Ino... kami..."

"Why not, Shika?" Chouji asked. "After all, you didn't seem very happy yesterday..."

"Because Ino was going on about what she was planning today." The chuunin's words were muffled, since he hadn't changed position. "So annoying..."

"If you really don't want us to do anything..." Iruka began, sounding concerned.

There was a beat of silence, during which Shikamaru raised his head, looked around at his companions, and sighed again. "Fine... just this once. I'll show up, but if I disappear, don't come looking for me. Deal?" His eyes narrowed into a glare until all three were vigorously nodding in agreement. He pushed himself off of the ground, dusted himself off, and walked down the hill. "C'mon, Chouji, let's go get ready for a long, troublesome night..."

After the boys had disappeared, a giggle drifted down from the tree Iruka and Kakashi were still standing under. A few seconds and a few falling leaves later revealed the person behind the giggle, as she dropped from a branch and landed beside the two men. "Thanks Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei! It's really hard to get him to do anything for his birthday, you know? Well, see you tonight!" And she was gone, running after the boys to join them in getting ready for the night ahead.

"... That Ino scares me sometimes..." Kakashi muttered, watching her go.

"Tell me about it," Iruka mumbled.


	26. October 10 Uzumaki Naruto

"Naruto! Oi... Naruto!"

Naruto paused, glancing over his shoulder quizzically. Once he saw who was calling him, however, his grin brightened considerably. "Iruka-sensei! I haven't seen you in a while! What's up?" He turned fully, only to find himself caught in a tight hug. He blinked, confused. "Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka just tightened his hold. He didn't care that people were starting to stare. He'd been on a mission for the past two weeks, and only when he'd gotten home and checked the calendar did he realize what exactly he missed. And he wasn't going to let go of the boy anytime soon, even if the blond didn't know why he was being hugged in the first place.

"Maa, Iruka-sensei, I hear public displays of affection are pretty looked down upon in the middle of the market."

His head turned sharply toward the voice, but his glare died when he recognized the playful glint in his boyfriend's visible eye. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. Did you want a hug, too?"

The Copy-Nin chuckled, stowing away his book and stepping closer, opening his arms in an unspoken offer. Iruka rolled his eyes and glanced down at Naruto, who was struggling not to laugh. Both men glanced at each other, confused, and then back down at the genin.

"Kakashi-sensei... hug..." the boy managed, before going off in gales of laughter. "That's gotta be the funniest thing I've heard!"

Kakashi grinned behind the mask, lowering his arms and putting his hands in his pockets. Iruka let go of Naruto. They waited quietly until the genin was able to get himself under control, which took a few minutes. When Naruto was wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, Kakashi proceeded with the plan.

"Oi, Naruto. How about you come to our place for dinner? 'Ru makes some pretty amazing ramen, you know, and it's cheaper than Ichiraku's by far." When Naruto didn't answer, opting instead to stare blankly at his teachers, Kakashi had the grace to look sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, we figured that since we missed your birthday and all last week, we'd make it up to you. It's been a while since you celebrated your birthday with him, am I right?"

Iruka shifted uncomfortably as Naruto's silence drew longer. Finally, big blue eyes turned to him. He felt his face warming, but didn't look away.

"You two live together? Since when?" the blond finally asked suspiciously.

"A while, I guess," Kakashi replied, shrugging. Despite his calm and disinterested expression, Iruka knew that the jounin was as nervous as he was. It was the first time they'd even mentioned their relationship to Naruto, and Iruka was firm that the genin be told. The secret had been kept from him long enough.

"So, Naruto? You coming for dinner?" Iruka asked.

There was another silence, and the chuunin shifted nervously.

Finally, Naruto nodded and grinned. "Heck yeah! Free ramen? I'll drop by around 8! But, uh... who lives with who?"

"Iruka's place, Naruto. My apartment was a wreck, so we abandoned it. Relax, nothing huge has changed..." Kakashi cut in.

The boy's face froze in shock. He looked from his favorite academy teacher to the jounin. "But... Iruka-sensei's house only has one bedroom!"

"... Yeah. So?"

"You two sleep... in the... same... eh?"

Kakashi mentally facepalmed. '_Happy late birthday, Naruto... thanks for taking the news like a mature person...'_ he thought sarcastically as he watched the boy curl up in the fetal position on the ground.


	27. October18&24 SarutobiAsuma&MitarashiAnko

"Hey, Asuma!"

The bearded jounin glanced over his shoulder, confusion clouding his face and a cigarette inches from his mouth. Besides him, Kurenai turned fully to face the Copy-Nin walking toward them. For once, the bight orange book was nowhere in sight, for the jounin's hands were stowed away in his pockets. His signature slouch was still present, however, and Asuma relaxed slightly, placing the cigarette in his mouth and turned to face his colleague.

"Yo, Kakashi. How's the wife?"

Had it been anyone but Asuma, Kakashi would have killed him on the spot for referring to Iruka in such a manner. As it was, however, he just curved his eye in a hidden smile and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. It was a long-running joke for the two of them, since Iruka did tend to act like a housewife at times.

"He actually wanted to make me a lunch this morning. Had to force him back to bed to get some well-deserved sleep." At the dawning horror on his friends' faces, Kakashi shook his hands in a 'no' gesture. "He was up all night!" Their expressions became more announced. "No! I mean, he was grading papers!" By then, his face was red in embarrassment, visible over the top of his mask. Kurenai giggled, nudging Asuma, who was now grinning at the flustered jounin before them.

"What's wrong, Kakashi? I thought you didn't mind sharing your sexcapades," he said at last.

"Sure, when they happen! Besides, you two are still too uncomfortable thinking about two guys together for me to be comfortable telling you anything."

"Thanks for being so considerate of our discomfort. Even if we were just faking it that time." Kurenai smiled warmly, patting the Copy-Nin's arm.

"Well... you're welcome. I guess. But, uh, anyway, moving past the awkward part... Iruka wanted me to extend an invitation to dinner tonight. Just the six of us, for your birthday, Asuma."

Asuma pulled a confused face again. "Six?"

"Well, since your birthday was actually earlier this week, and today's Anko's... we're putting it together! Since you're not a huge fan of parties, Iruka suggested a dinner. Surprisingly, Anko and Gai agreed. So... show up around 7?"

There was a long silence. Dinner with Anko, Gai, Kakashi, and Iruka?

"We'll be there," Kurenai finally said. "After all, Asuma does need to get out. He hasn't celebrated his birthday yet!"

"Kurenai!"

"Quiet, you. It's completely true! Thank you, Kakashi."

"Maa, no problem. See you then."

There was a poof of smoke, and Kakashi was gone.


	28. November 11&15 Jiraiya & Rin

**A/N:** I apologize for missing the last two due dates, but they happened to occur after my laptop charger died and before I got a new one. As it were, I guess I'm glad I missed them... I'm free all day, so I have ample time to write out a double-chapter, and hopefully it will be just as good as two separate chapters for the (very) unrelated characters.

WARNING: This one's a little angsty on Kakashi's part.

* * *

Kakashi had been quiet for a few days. Sure, he'd gotten back from a mission around then, but never had the jounin been quite this distant and cold. He left early, came home late, and never turned in mission reports, leaving his absences purely unexcused. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai were too busy training with Yamato-san to notice anything strange about their teacher.

Iruka noticed. Iruka worried.

It was just hitting a quarter to midnight when the door creaked open. Iruka was on the couch, dozing, as Kakashi toed off his sandals and slid out of his flak jacket. The hitai-ate was laid carefully on the table next to the door, beside Iruka's own, and the Copy-Nin rubbed his Sharingan eye with a tired wince. He was exhausted... even a half-asleep Iruka could see that. What had he been doing for the past few days?

Kakashi paused at the end of the couch when he saw his boyfriend sprawled across it, both graded and ungraded papers resting on the teacher's stomach and a pen just barely in his relaxed grip. The mask was still up, but there was a flash of something in the jounin's eye that disappeared seconds later.

"You should get to bed, 'Ru," he said softly, his deep voice as cold and indifferent as the Copy-Nin was expected to be. "It's late."

"Was waiting for you," the chuunin mumbled, his voice slurred with sleep. "You've been so busy lately, thought I'd wait up..."

Kakashi sighed, and for one dreadful moment, Iruka thought that the jounin was just going to shrug and head off to bed. He was pleasantly surprised, however, when the jounin moved closer and took the papers off of his stomach, setting them on the low coffee table, and placing Iruka's favored red marking pen on top. Iruka peered up at him through droopy eyes, curiosity flickering in the deep chocolate color. Kakashi liked to pull his mask down once inside the apartment... something had happened, Kakashi was suffering for some unknown reason...

"Come on," the jounin was saying, helping Iruka to his feet. Oddly off-balance, the chuunin stumbled, and Kakashi wrapped a firm arm around his waist to steady him. "Can't believe you even tried staying up. You have class in the morning."

"Haven't seen you lately..." Iruka rubbed his neck, wincing at the sharp pain he'd gotten from sleeping on the couch, and glanced up at his boyfriend, who was leading him slowly to the bedroom. "Jiraiya stopped by looking for you."

"Yeah, he found me... threatened me to keep his age to myself." By then, the Copy-Nin had pushed open the door and was lowering Iruka down to the mattress. He even pulled off the chuunin's shirt before pushing him gently into a lying position. Iruka was too sleepy to crack a joke about it, and curled on his side to doze off again.

Kakashi sat on the edge of the bed for a long while, watching the poor teacher sleep, before he finally pulled down his mask and kissed Iruka's forehead softly. He hadn't meant to worry the man, but... Rin's birthday had hit him like a Chidori to the gut, and he couldn't bear letting 'Ru see how depressed the lack of his old teammate made him. It had been about 15 years since the last time he saw her, but the pain of losing her was still fresh every year around this time. She had left just after Naruto had been born, unable to cope with losing Obito and Sensei so close together. And he, Kakashi, had been left alone.

"Kashi..." The whisper was soft, so soft he almost didn't hear it. The jounin let a small smile grow on his face, and he stood up to get ready for bed, himself.

Maybe he hadn't been left completely alone, after all.


	29. November 25&27 Kamizuki Izumo & Rock Lee

**A/N:** You know what? It's a holiday week. Today is the day between two birthdays, so I'm just going to shove them together. Mostly because my laptop is dealing with a virus and won't let me open Microsoft Word, also because I'm much too lazy to have to worry about a chapter tomorrow.

Our journey is almost over! We have two more birthdays this year. Can you believe it? We're almost done, people! And after FYE is over... I'm going to need a new hobby. Also, this chapter is 1000 words exactly!

* * *

Kakashi had pretty much returned back to normal after last week's strange depression. Now the couple had to worry about the next birthday party, which happened to be Izumo's, and was going to be held in their own apartment. This meant, of course, that the apartment had to be clean. And Iruka cleaned like crazy when he needed to. Kakashi was currently confined to the couch so he wouldn't get in the way, and so saw this as the perfect opportunity to play his favorite game, Make Iruka Blush. Rules of the game are as follows: wait until subject is completely focused on one task; read aloud a section of Icha Icha when subject is within sight and earshot; enjoy. And Kakashi was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Smooth, confident hands trailed down his stomach, pausing only at the waistband of his trousers. 'We don't have to do this, Kaito. I'd understand if you said no.' Kaito was beyond resisting... he-"

"Kashi!" the chuunin exclaimed, feeling blood rush to his face.

The jounin let out a very undignified giggle.

Iruka straightened up, put his hands on his hips, and glared at the Copy-Nin. Why did he deal with this, really? He was trying to clean, to get everything perfect for Izumo's party! But no, Kakashi had to go and start reading things from his pornographic books. Kakashi met the glare with an innocent expression, only his eyes visible over the bright orange book. When Iruka sighed and turned away, the calm, deep voice of Kakashi continued with his reading. Iruka tried to tune it out, he really did. Why couldn't Gai pop in and disrupt it? The man would show up every other time, why not now?

"Gai's off with Lee on a birthday training session. It's the kid's birthday tomorrow," Kakashi said randomly, as though he could read the chuunin's mind. "He's not gonna show tonight."

"That's one less problem," the teacher grumbled, straightening the pictures on the wall before thinking better of it and taking them down. No need in risking broken glass. He disappeared for a moment to set the pictures in their bedroom, on the desk, along with Iruka's papers to grade. He'd have to remember to finish those before everyone showed up.

Someone knocked on the door. Iruka heard Kakashi toss his book on the coffee table and call out in a singsong voice, "Coming~!" The teacher frowned and hurried back to the living room. Who had showed up this early? Why? He wasn't done! He hadn't even gotten to the kitchen yet, and...!

"Hey, 'Ruka! We figured we'd help clean!" Anko and Kurenai, plus a very sullen-looking Asuma and Genma, were standing in the entryway. None of them looked twice at Kakashi's exposed face; they'd all seen it before. That was probably why the silver-haired shinobi hadn't pulled it up at the first flash of chakra. "And Raidou's on his way with the cake!" Anko added as an afterthought.

"I got the booze," Genma told him, holding up a paper bag. "I'll go put it in the fridge. Mind if I just sit down and stay out of the way?"

"Only if you keep Kashi distracted from reading his books out loud."

Genma grinned. "Gotcha. Thanks, Iruka." He ambled over to the armchair and sprawled across it, and his fellow men (minus Iruka) followed along so they could relax, too. Kurenai shook her head at the picture of pure laziness before her, and Anko took the bag Genma had 'forgotten' to take into the kitchen.

"We've got an hour before Kotetsu said he'd bring Izumo over!" Kakashi said loudly, enough for Iruka and the women to hear. There were a few muffled curses from Iruka, and the flurried activity of cleaning began anew.

Asuma chuckled, fiddling with an unlit cigarette. If he smoked in the apartment, Iruka would castrate him with a rusty kunai. The bearded jounin was pretty sure the chuunin had quite a few of them, to be throwing that threat around so often. "Hey, Kakashi. Think I can borrow the wife to clean up my place sometime?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Oh, sure... you'd have to give me half of your next paycheck, though. Good cleaners are hard to come by these days." At Asuma's shocked expression (half his next paycheck for a day of cleaning?), Kakashi shrugged. "I'm actually letting you off easy, man. You know how much damage 'Ru would cause if he knew you even suggested borrowing him for a day? Besides, I thought Kurenai was a clean freak. What's up with that?"

"Ah, well, see... I know better than to ask that woman to clean up after me. She's almost as scary as Iruka!"

"I doubt that, Asuma. I very much doubt that," Genma said wisely.

"What are you doubting, Gen?" Anko asked, appearing at the doorway.

"Many things. None of any importance. Men talk, leave now."

Kakashi and Asuma burst out laughing. Anko scowled for a moment, but walked off, muttering darkly under her breath. Too bad Iruka would freak out if she got their blood on the carpet... and walls... and ceiling... and furniture...


	30. Dec27&30 HyuugaHinata&SarutobiKonohamaru

**A/N: **Well, folks, this is it. The last chapter of FYE, and the closing of another year. I would like to thank those of you that have been supportive all year. This fic would have probably been dumped ages ago if not for my reviewers and followers giving me the motivation to continue! A very special thanks to KeamiHuyga and Ryu Earth, for sticking by me through everything, all year, even late chapters and moody phone calls (in the case of the former, not the latter). Thank you so much, and happy new year!

* * *

This was it. Kakashi stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth and shaving cream covering the entire bottom part of his face. He'd gotten home late from training with the team, and was currently trying to shave and brush his teeth at the same time. Or, he _had_ been until he'd gotten lost in thought. On the other side of the door, he could hear Iruka bustling about, trying to busy himself with chores of some sort so he wouldn't rush the jounin. Kakashi really did hate being rushed.

"Hey Kashi?"

The Copy Nin ripped the toothbrush from his mouth and spat into the sink. "Yeah?"

"Have you seen my bag of essays? I can't seem to find it."

"Try under the desk. Have you looked beside the bed?"

"Thank you!" Footsteps retreated hastily.

Kakashi promptly stuck the toothbrush back in his mouth and seized his razor. If Iruka was starting to wonder about that bag of essays that the jounin had hidden to keep the teacher from grading them tonight, Kakashi needed to hurry up. Within about 30 seconds, he splashed his face to get rid of the excess shaving cream and set back to furiously brushing his teeth.

*Poof*

"Yo, boss."

Kakashi growled threateningly around the toothbrush, not even glancing down at the pug. Pakkun said nothing else; he was used to this behavior. Finally, Kakashi rinsed the toothbrush and looked down at the nindog, one eyebrow raised quizzically.

"The guys are getting restless. We're all going tonight, right?"

"Yeah, I told you that last week. What's the deal?"

"Consider yourself being rushed."

Kakashi's eye narrowed. He'd already covered the Sharingan with a strip of black cloth, but the threat was still pretty scary. The pug scooted backwards instantly. Still glaring at the dog, the jounin reached back blindly and grabbed a towel, drying off his face and then throwing it. Pakkun lowered his head and the towel missed him by centimeters.

"I will summon you when I'm ready. You better not mess it up tonight, or no more couch for any of you."

Pakkun poofed away, and Kakashi turned from the plume of smoke to open the door and finish getting dressed.

* * *

Iruka heard Pakkun's voice within the bathroom, and hoped silently to himself that Kakashi wasn't being called on a mission. The Hyuuga clan had graciously invited every shinobi to Hinata's birthday festival, and even allowed Kakashi to extend the invitation to his ninken. So when the bathroom door opened, Iruka (having been searching for his missing bag in the bedroom) glanced up worriedly... only to freeze in place. Kakashi had promised to dress nicely for the festival, after over an hour of arguing and empty threats of the Copy Nin sleeping on the couch. But what Iruka was staring at now was much better than anyone should be able to stare at. Wide brown eyes swept over the view before him, and he swallowed.

Kakashi had paused in the doorway, obviously not expecting Iruka to seriously be searching in the bedroom. His black slacks were unbuttoned and slung low on narrow hips, and he had yet to put on his mask or the stormy gray shirt Iruka had picked out. That meant that there was an almost endless expanse of pale skin, and a trail of silver hair from the naval down, for Iruka to feast his eyes upon. Scars dotted the flesh here and there, including a particularly long one on his left side from a mission gone bad. Kakashi's arms moved; Iruka's eyes focused on the ripple of skin over muscle the movement caused, before his gaze shot up to Kakashi's face.

Dammit. Kakashi was _smirking_ at him.

"Never figured you for practically drooling over a shirtless guy, sensei," the jounin said at last, reaching down and securing the button on his pants. "And I thought staring was rude. What would your students say if they could see their favorite teacher now?"

Kakashi chuckled when a dark blush spread across the chuunin's face, and turned away to pick up his undershirt and pull it on, situating the built-in mask before slipping into the stormy gray shirt and buttoning it. When he turned around again, Iruka had slipped from the room. Kakashi smiled behind his mask and went in search of his favorite little chuunin.

* * *

The festival was bustling by the time the couple got there. Konohamaru and his friends nearly tripped over Iruka as they passed, which got them called back and reprimanded for being inconsiderate of others. Just when Kakashi was readying himself for Iruka to go into sensei mode, the chuunin smiled warmly at the trio and sent them on their way, with a cheerful 'happy birthday' to Konohamaru. The Copy Nin took the opportunity to drag Iruka away from the crowd and head up to the meeting place that their friends had established a week ago.

Sure enough, everyone was there. Asuma and Kurenai had a blanket spread out on the hill, Kotetsu and Izumo were playing cards with Genma and Raidou on a nearby rock, and Gai and Anko were waving at Kakashi and Iruka as they approached.

"Ah, Eternal Rival! Glad to see you have made it at last."

Kotetsu popped up, grabbed Iruka, and dragged him over to the card game with a wink in Kakashi's direction. The jounin used the moment to summon the dogs. The hilltop was suddenly shrouded in smoke, which cleared after a second to reveal the ninken. Guruko hopped over to Iruka and Bull ambled over to Asuma and Kurenai's blanket, both of which moved over to allow room for the large canine. Uhei, Bisuke, Shiba, Akino, and Urushi scattered, choosing their own places to lay down, while Pakkun tailed Kakashi as usual.

The night went on. Iruka made it back over to Kakashi, and the jounin wound their fingers together and rubbed his thumb across the teacher's knuckles. Everyone stared up into the sky at the fireworks that had been set off, and Pakkun nudged Kakashi's leg lightly.

"We should do something drastic. It's the end of the year, after all," Kakashi said, taking the cue for what it was.

"Like what?"

Pakkun nudged Iruka next, and, when the chuunin bent to scratch him behind the ears, he dodged nimbly and dropped something into the teacher's hand. Iruka opened his hand and looked at the something, his eyes widening, and he straightened, looking at Kakashi in confusion and... something else.

Kakashi leaned forward, taking the something and turning toward the teacher. The small ring (a perfect fit, Iruka noted) slid onto the younger man's ring finger of his left hand, and Kakashi stared at him, his gaze surprisingly guarded.

"Marry me, 'Ru."

Iruka looked around at their companions. All of the dogs were sitting in a circle around them. Their friends were watching him, waiting for the reply to Kakashi's not-really question. He looked at the ring, at the hand Kakashi still gripped in his own. He looked at the guarded expression, and remembered the past year; all the birthdays, all the little arguments and moments... and made the most important decision of his life.

"Okay."


	31. Thank You

I know you probably all spazzed when you saw 'New Chapter: Chapter 31 of For Your Entertainment, by Amazingly Hyper' in your inbox, when you were sure it was over. Well, guess what? It IS over. That's right, I got your hopes up for nothing. Nothing at all.

Yeah, right.

The point of this update is actually for a good cause (in my mind). You see, now that FYE is over, I'm kinda out of a hobby. So, I decided to put up some ideas here, and hopefully some of you guys will comment and be like 'ooh, ooh, do this one, this one!'

OR

You comment a phrase or word for a oneshot idea. Much like 'Monster' and 'Doughnuts and Sake' started out. Or, heck, send in a song (complete with artist name/translation if not English)!

As you can probably tell, I'm bored out of my mind with nothing to write about. RoR is coming along slowly, no worries there, I'm not giving up on it.

Anyway, **ON TO THE IDEAS!

* * *

**

'Tiny Jounin no Jutsu' – Jounin are being turned into toddlers left and right! How did this happen? Can the Konoha 11 fix it?

'Spell Magic' Harry Potter/Naruto – Kakashi, Obito, and Rin are sent to Hogwarts while Minato has to deal with his duties as the Fourth Hokage.

'Kidnapped!' - Iruka has found himself taken from his home by a strange trio whose boss has something against Kakashi. With Kakashi off on a mission and clueless of their abduction, will Iruka and little Karu make it back to Konoha alive? WARNING: Implied MPreg, the gay, possible strong language.

'School Daze' - AU. Kakashi is a teacher at Konohagakure Academy, and has a crush on the English teacher down the hall, Umino Iruka. With his best friend Gai's help, can Kakashi win the younger man over?

'Hallucination' - "I'm not scared of you. You're not even real. You're just a hallucination and you'll go away once I take my medication." What Iruka didn't know was that this 'hallucination' was actually the only thing that could keep him sane.

**Please comment your opinion. **

**~Amaze~ **


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